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Australia

Percy was the son of John JAMES & Adelaide Rowan STIGWOOD and was born on the 20th April 1896 Parkside SA.

His parents were married at the residence of Adelaide’s parents, Stirling East SA.

Percy was the youngest child born into the family of 8 children.

The JAMES family lived at 1 Tomsey Street, Adelaide and his father was a well known Victoria Park horse trainer with stables in Carrington Street.

Percy grew up surrounded by racehorses and rode track work for his father and later became a groom.

Some of their racing achievements were winning the Glanville Handicap, Torrens Handicap, St Leonards Handicap, Richmond Park Stakes and the South Australian Stakes.

They also won the SA Derby, Tattersall’s Cup, Tennyson Handicap, Goodwood Stakes and the Grand National Steeple Chase in Melbourne.

In the 1911 – 12 racing season his father was the head winning owner in SA and their racing colours were tartan with a blue cap.

One of their employees was a jockey named James Cornelio NERINE. On the 8th of May 1915 he was riding one of the “James’s Stable” horses, “Eastern Sea”, in the Welter Handicap at Morphettville. Unfortunately the horse clipped the heals of another and fell and James was thrown to the ground and trampled be the rest of the field.

He suffered lacerations and a fractured skull and died the following evening at his residence in East Terrace.

Hundreds of people from the racing community attended his funeral on the 12th of May in the West Terrace Cemetery. Percy’s father paid for his funeral and purchased the double plot.

At the age of 21, Percy enlisted into the AIF on the 6th of January 1916 in Adelaide and was allotted the service number 2282.

He listed his mother of 1 Tomsey Street, Adelaide, as his next of kin.

Percy was posted to the 2nd Depot Battalion, B Company in Mitcham Camp for 11 days and then transferred to the 32nd Battalion, 5th Reinforcement on the 16th of January.

He was then transferred to the 9th Light Horse, 16th Reinforcement B Squadron and then on the 1st of June he was transferred to the 3rd Light Horse.

Percy embarked from Adelaide on the HMAT A41 Bakara on the 28th of April 1916, disembarking in Egypt.

He was taken on strength with the 3rd Light Horse Training Regiment on the 3rd of June 1916 at Tel-el-

Kebir and then was transferred to the Police Headquarters in Moascar on the 2nd of August.

On the 1st of October he was transferred back to the 3rd Light Horse Training Regiment and then 11 days later he transferred to the 9th Light Horse Regiment at Bir el Ganadil.

By the end of October they had moved onto Bir el Maler

Percy’s Brigade became part of the ANZAC Mounted Division and joined the forces defending the Suez Canal from a Turkish drive across the Sinai Desert. The Turks were turned at Romani. Although it didn’t take part in the actual battle, the 9th Light Horse was involved in the advance that followed the   Turks’ retreat back across the desert.

By December 1916, this advance had reached the Palestine frontier and the 9th was involved in the fighting to secure the Turkish outposts of Maghdaba (23rd December) and Rafa (9th January 1917), both of which were captured at bayonet point. The next Turkish stronghold to be encountered was Gaza. The 3rd Light Horse Brigade, now part of the Imperial Mounted Division (later re-named the Australian Mounted Division), was involved in the two abortive battles to capture Gaza directly (27th March and 19th April 1917).

Percy was taken to a field hospital suffering tonsillitis on the 14th of April 1917 and then transferred to the 54th Casualty Clearing Station in Hazebrouck.

He was then transferred to Cairo and admitted to the 14th Australian General Hospital in Abbassia, Cairo. He was discharged from hospital 3 weeks later and transferred to the 3rd Light Horse Training Regiment.

On the 21st of May he was transferred back to the 9th Light Horse Regiment, who was now located at El Fukhari, and by the end of May they had moved onto Shellal.

By August they were at Marakeb where they camped and completed further training and then moved onto Abasan.

On the 24th of September they moved out from their billets in the direction of Beersheba, for Khalassa.

By the 30th of October they were 2 miles east of Beersheba and received orders for the attack on Beersheba.

They marched out at 1730hrs and arrived at Tel-el-Saba to support the New Zealand Mounted Brigade on their attack.

By 1500hrs on the 31st of October the battle for Beersheba was developing and they were then involved in the the operation that ultimately led to its fall - the wide outflanking move via Beersheba.

With the fall of Gaza, the Turkish position in southern Palestine collapsed. The 9th Light Horse   participated in the pursuit that followed and led to the capture of Jerusalem in December. The focus of British operations then moved to the Jordan Valley.

Christmas Day 1917 was spent at Suffa in torrential rain and then January was spent at their billets in Belah.

By the end of April 1918 they had moved to Jericho and were advancing up the Jordan Valley when Percy suffered another attack of Tonsillitis on the 30th and was transferred to the 3rd Light Horse Field Ambulance. From here he was transferred to the 36th Stationary Hospital, 75th Casualty Clearing Station, 44th Stationary Hospital, and then finally admitted to the 14th Australian General Hospital in Cairo.

He recovered after 11 days and was transferred to Rest Camp in Port Said for 2 weeks before being transferred to the 3rd Light Horse Training Regiment in Moascar.

He rejoined the 9th Light Horse Regiment on the 12th of June in Ain ed Duk and by the end of June they were located at Solomons Pools, Bethlehem.

Whilst here, on the 9th of July, Percy was Absent without Leave (AWOL). He was charged with drunkenness, creating a disturbance, disobeying an order. Percy was deprived of 26 days pay.

By the end of July they had moved onto Madhbeh and by the end of August they had moved into the Ludd Area.

Percy became ill with Influenza and was admitted to several Casualty Clearing Stations and Stationary Hospitals before being admitted into the 14th Australian General Hospital on the 14th of October.

He recovered enough to be sent to the rest camp, but by the 19th of December he was back in hospital.

Percy embarked for Australia from Suez on board HMAT Demosthenes on the 26th of January 1919, disembarking in Adelaide on the 28th of February 1919.

Percy was discharged, medically unfit, from the AIF on the 24th April 1919.

Percy served in the AIF for a total of 1204 days with 1037 of these days being overseas.

Percy moved to Queensland where he met Miss Phyllis Irene DUNN in Queensland and they had a son; Percival John, born on the 24th of June 1921 in Windsor, Brisbane.

Percy married Phyllis Irene DUNN on the 1st of October 1921 in Brisbane, QLD.

Phyllis was the daughter of Thomas William DUBB & Mary Catherine GOOPY and was born on the 28th of June 1898 in Queensland.

Phyllis Mary was born on the 28th of January 1926 in Carrington Street, Adelaide.

Patricia Lorraine was born on the 8th of December 1937

In 1939 they were living at 16 Edison Street, St Leonards and Percy was a jockey.

Percy died on the 17th of November 1976 in Nile Street, Glenelg and Phyllis buried him in the West Terrace Cemetery; Catholic Western Ground, Row J, Plot 66.

His grave is located next to the grave of James Cornelio NERINE (in the double plot).

Phyllis died on the 10th of September 1996 in Glenelg and was buried in the same plot as James Cornelio NERINE and next to Percy