Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

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.