Andrews, Percy

No.392 Lance-Corporal Percy Andrews – 11^th Battalion AIF

Percy Andrews was born in Gympie Queensland on 17^th June 1893. His family moved to Western Australia and took up residence at 5 Cantonment Street Fremantle. (Property address now 110 High Street)

Percy was an Ironmonger by trade but also had experience serving in the Australian Garrison Artillery.

Percy offered his services to the AIF on the 10^th September 1914 and was medically examined at Blackboy Hill Camp by Dr. Brennan. Percy was found to be 5 feet 8 ½ inches in height; weighed 165 lbs; had a chest measurement of 34-37 inches; dark complexion, brown eyes & dark hair. His religious denomination was Church of Christ. He was passed as fit and assigned to D Company of the 11^th Battalion where he was appointed Lance Corporal. After a few months training, the 11^th Battalion embarked aboard the H.M.A.T. A11 Ascanius on the 2^nd November 1914.

Upon arrival in Egypt the original 8 Companies were halved to a 4 Company system with the result that Percy joined B Company of the 11^th Battalion. The 11^th left Egypt in March and set sail for Lemnos Island where they embarked on further training. Their Brigade had been chosen to make the initial landing on the Turkish coast.

On April 25^th 1915 the 11^th Battalion landed on what would be called North Beach and made their way up the Turkish hills. A mate of Percy’s was his Platoon Sergeant Ed Mofflin, who left the following accounts about the landing;

“Then I went on again with a great chum of mine Percy Andrews, nicknamed “The Rajah” because he was so dark. As we’d help each other up we talk now and again. “How’s things Rajah?” “Oh not bad, hot work eh?” “Could be worse, come on”, and away we’d go again. When we got to the top of the last height I was well up in the front line and on the extreme left, on the verge of a precipice. I saw 3 Turks firing down on to the beach. There was nobody between them and me, it was a trifle dark for shooting, but I thought I’d risk it, so I dropped on one knee and let him have it. I couldn’t very well miss. I saw him drop and when I got up to him I found that I had hit him fair between the eyes. Killed my first Turk with my first shot.”

“Mr Darnell was ordered to take as many as he could find of his scouts out on the left to reconnoitre, and he told me to go with him as he wanted me to send back signals for him. So we went down into the gully by a track cut by the Turks, and on another ridge in the middle of it there we found Capt. Everett and Capt. Barnes. Just then signals came back from the other side of the gully. “Reinforcements urgently wanted in centre”. So Capt. Barnes ordered all who were there of B Coy to go and reinforce the firing line. So Sergt Arnold, myself, L/Cpl Percy Andrews, L/Cpl Jack Nelson and a party of men set off from the ridge into the gully again and up the other side by another pathway cut by the Turks. When we got up the slope we had a view of the country in front of us for about 2000 yards. On our right was a gully and the other side of that a flat table land stretching about 1500 yards in front, we couldn’t see across it. On our left the ground gradually rose for about 200 yards and then we couldn’t see any more. But about 1000 yards in front we could see a thin khaki line of our lads lying down firing, then they got up and retired a bit and fired, and then retired again, and we could see Turks coming over the hills in front of them in hundreds. So the best thing we could do was to drop into an old Turkish communications trench that was running parallel with the gully, and open a dropping fire over their heads to cover their retreat, which we did and we eventually found ourselves in the firing line.”

“This trench was only about 2 feet 6 deep and very narrow, so we got to work with entrenching tools to make it a bit more comfortable and with the sand bags (each man carried 3) filled and put on top of the parapet, in half an hour we had made it a bit more comfortable, but we had no traverses in to stop enfilade fire, but that couldn’t be helped. There were only about 30 of us there and the bullets were thudding against the bank or pinging overhead, with occasionally a crack of an explosive one, and when we stood up to give them a few rounds rapids now and again we could see the Turks coming towards us in hundreds over the skyline and I can tell you I prayed then for reinforcements which came dribbling over our little trench in twos and threes.

We got a solid reinforcement in the shape of a detachment with Capt. Burns and Miller[1] of the 3^rd Battalion, then we were properly mixed up. Then almost immediately the ships started firing and we could see the shrapnel bursting, and hear the screech of the shells over our heads, and the Turks started shelling us, and giving us a warm time with machine gun and rifle fire. The Machine Guns would start on the right of our trench and pump lead into us and take the tops of the sandbags right along. Percy Andrews wasn’t far from me, he was crouching there as calm and cool as a cucumber, and every time a bullet came near him he would say “Did you get me Guy” and every now and again he would have a shot when he saw something to shoot at. A bullet grazed his shoulder. “Did you get me -----“ Poor old Rajah, he never finished his old saying, he got it just above the eye. Killed! He was passed out of the trench after dark, that’s the last I saw of him."

Percy had been badly wounded, and it is thought that he died of wounds the same day, either on the battlefield or on the hospital ship. Unfortunately, no trace was found or recorded as to what happened to his body therefore he is commemorated on the Lone Pine Memorial. His official date of death of May 2^nd is wrong as that is when the 11^th Battalion’s roll call was held and he was most likely listed as missing. Many men who were listed as ‘missing’ on April 25^th were therefore erroneously given the date of death as May 2^nd.

As Percy’s parents were both dead, his effects and medals were given to his eldest surviving brother, Frank Andrews of Churchill Street Maryborough Queensland. There were also two surviving sisters, Alice Richards, who resided at Herne Hill WA and Mrs. E.J. Cooper of Croydon NSW.