Percy George PITMAN

PITMAN, Percy George

Service Numbers: 3482, S69662
Enlisted: 21 November 1916
Last Rank: Private
Last Unit: 2nd (SA) Battalion Volunteer Defence Corps (VDC)
Born: Inglewood, South Australia, 12 November 1891
Home Town: Inglewood, Adelaide Hills, South Australia
Schooling: Not yet discovered
Occupation: Orchardist
Died: Natural causes, Inglewood, Adelaide Hills - South Australia, Australia, 30 August 1974, aged 82 years
Cemetery: Houghton Cemetery, S.A.
Memorials: Houghton War Memorial, Kersbrook Roll of Honor
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World War 1 Service

21 Nov 1916: Enlisted Australian Army (Post WW2), Private, 3482, 2nd Depot Battalion
20 Jan 1917: Transferred Australian Army (Post WW2), Private, 48th Infantry Battalion
10 Feb 1917: Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 3482, 48th Infantry Battalion, On troopship Seeang Bee arriving in Devonport on 2 May
10 Feb 1917: Embarked 48th Infantry Battalion
26 Jul 1917: Transferred AIF WW1, Private, Machine Gun Companies and Battalions, Machine Gun Corps Details at Grantham
23 Oct 1917: Transferred AIF WW1, Private, 23rd Machine Gun Company
1 Mar 1918: Transferred AIF WW1, Private, 3rd Machine Gun Battalion
25 Aug 1919: Discharged Australian Army (Post WW2)

World War 2 Service

5 Apr 1942: Involvement Private, S69662, 2nd (SA) Battalion Volunteer Defence Corps (VDC)
5 Apr 1942: Enlisted Adelaide, SA
5 Apr 1942: Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, S69662
11 Jul 1944: Discharged

Percy George Pitman

Percy and Doris were involved in an accidental shooting in 1923:
The News of 8 October 1923 reported:
“VICTIM’S CONDITION IMPROVING
According to police investigations everything points to the accidental discharge of the gun by Mr. Percy Pitman, gardener, of Inglewood, the result of which his wife, Doris Annie (29) is now in Miss Fuller’s Private Hospital at Trinity Street, St.Peters, in a serious condition.
When Mr. Pitman returned to his home at 6.25pm on Saturday, after having been out shooting, his wife was milking a cow. He carried a gun in his hand and was about to pass within a few yards of his wife when the gun in some way went off.
The core of the charge shattered the hind leg of the cow. Some of the spreading shot entered the calf of one of Mrs. Pitman’s legs, and other pellets lodged in her groin.
Dr.C. Mitchell was summoned, and Mrs. Pitman, accompanied by her husband, was taken to the hospital. Drs. Mitchell and B.Shanasy found her to be in a critical condition.
She spent a comparatively good night last night, and today was reported to be progressing favorably.”2.


Percy and Doris were faithful members of Houghton Methodist Church, and actively engaged in the community. Percy was also Postmaster at Inglewood for 32 years. 3.
During World War Two Percy served with the 2nd (SA) Battalion Volunteer Defence Corps.
Percy George Pitman died at Houghton on 30 August 1974.”

Percy Pitman
Photo courtesy of Virtual War Memorial.



Source: www.naa;B2455; Pitman.P.G.
Barcode 8015981
Footnotes:
1.www.vwma; Pitman. P.G.: Submission by Allen Hancock.2.www.trove.nla.gov/digitised newspapers.3.www.vwma; P.G.Pitman.`

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Percy george Pitman

Percy and Doris were involved in an accidental shooting in 1923:
The News of 8 October 1923 reported:
“VICTIM’S CONDITION IMPROVING
According to police investigations everything points to the accidental discharge of the gun by Mr. Percy Pitman, gardener, of Inglewood, the result of which his wife, Doris Annie (29) is now in Miss Fuller’s Private Hospital at Trinity Street, St.Peters, in a serious condition.
When Mr. Pitman returned to his home at 6.25pm on Saturday, after having been out shooting, his wife was milking a cow. He carried a gun in his hand and was about to pass within a few yards of his wife when the gun in some way went off.
The core of the charge shattered the hind leg of the cow. Some of the spreading shot entered the calf of one of Mrs. Pitman’s legs, and other pellets lodged in her groin.
Dr.C. Mitchell was summoned, and Mrs. Pitman, accompanied by her husband, was taken to the hospital. Drs. Mitchell and B.Shanasy found her to be in a critical condition.
She spent a comparatively good night last night, and today was reported to be progressing favorably.”2.


Percy and Doris were faithful members of Houghton Methodist Church, and actively engaged in the community. Percy was also Postmaster at Inglewood for 32 years. 3.
During World War Two Percy served with the 2nd (SA) Battalion Volunteer Defence Corps.
Percy George Pitman died at Houghton on 30 August 1974.”




Source: www.naa;B2455; Pitman.P.G.
Barcode 8015981
Footnotes:
1.www.vwma; Pitman. P.G.: Submission by Allen Hancock.2.www.trove.nla.gov/digitised newspapers.3.www.vwma; P.G.Pitman.`

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Biography contributed by Allen Hancock

Percy George Pitman was born in Inglewood, South Australia on 12 November 1891, the fourth son of George Eight Pitman and Jane Kennedy. His grandfather, John Pitman emigrated to Australia aboard the Lady McNaughton with his wife and two sons, Samuel (7) (George’s father) and Henry (10) (older brothers of George Eight Pitman) arriving in South Australia on 23 September 1851. John Pitman’s father William had emigrated to South Australia in 1840 with the rest of John’s family leaving their newly married eldest son behind. After the death of his wife, John Pitman lived with his son George Eight Pitman at Inglewood until his death on 11 April 1907.

Percy enlisted in the AIF on 21 November 1916 as a member of the 48th Infantry Battalion. Percy embarked for overseas on 10 February 1917 from Adelaide on the troopship Seeang Bee, arriving in Devonport on 2 May. In England, he was transferred to the Australian Machine Gun Corps and trained at Grantham before being transferred to the 23rd Machine Gun Company, part of the 23rd Infantry Battalion, which he joined on 23 October 1917 as the battalion rested following the Battle of Broodseinde Ridge.

In March 1918 Percy’s unit was transferred to form part of the 3rd Machine Gun Battalion, one of five such units raised as part of the AIF during the war. Assigned to the 3rd Division and consisting of personnel from the Australian Machine Gun Corps, the battalion had an authorised strength of 46 officers and 890 other ranks, and it consisted of four machine gun companies – the 9th, 10th, 11th and 23rd – which had previously existed as independent companies mainly assigned at the brigade level. While independent, these companies had been regionally affiliated with various states within Australia from where their recruits were drawn; however, with the establishment of the battalion identity, this affiliation was discontinued and the battalion became an "all states" unit. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3rd_Machine_Gun_Battalion_(Australia)

In early 1918, Russian resistance on the Eastern Front collapsed in the wake of the October Revolution and, as a result, the Germans were able to transfer a large number of troops to the Western Front. This greatly improved the German strength in the west and, as a result, in March, they launched their Spring Offensive. With the Germans making rapid gains, many Australian units, including the 3rd Machine Gun Battalion, were thrown into the line to blunt the attack in early April. After the German offensive was halted, a brief lull followed during which the Allies sought to  regain the initiative, launching a series of "Peaceful Penetration" operations. Following this, the Battalion participated in the fighting at Hamel on 4 July. 

Percy was evacuated from the front on 23 July suffering from dysentery via the British 55 Casualty Clearing Station located at Longpre to the American 16 General Hospital at Le Treport and eventually to the 1st Southern General Hospital at Stourbridge, Birmingham. He rejoined his unit in France on 7 December 1918 after the armistice. 

Percy embarked on his return to Australia from Devonport on the troopship Rio Pardo on 27 May 1919 arriving in Adelaide on 17 July 1919. The ship continued to Hobart and then to Sydney where it was quarantined due to a case of smallpox on board.

Percy was discharged from the AIF on 25 August 1919.

After the war, Percy is known to have suffered from the effects of mustard gas inhalation for the remainder of his life. Percy married Doris Annie Chamberlain at Kersbrook on 12 January 1921. The couple settled in Inglewood and raised three children: Harold Dean, Margory June and Laurie Graham.

During World War 2 Percy served with the 2nd (SA) Battalion Volunteer Defence Corps.

Percy died at Houghton on 30 Aug 1974.

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