Cook, Percival Henry

417 Private Percival Henry Cook -11th Battalion AIF

Percival Henry Cook was born in Fremantle in 1891 to James Preston and Fanny Cook. He had several siblings with, George (1886), James (1889), Ernest (1894), Alfred (1896) & Ivy (1899).

He grew up in Fremantle and was educated locally at Fremantle Boys School. The family were living at 52 Bellevue Terrace Fremantle.

On the 9th September 1914 Percy married Amy Bates at St Paul's Church Beaconsfield and a daughter called Mavis was born in 1915.

On the 15th August 1914 Percy enlisted into the Australian Imperial Force at Fremantle. He was accepted as fit for service with the medical examiner recording Percy's physical attributes as;

Height - 5 feet 8 &1/4 inches tall;

Weight - 154lbs;

Chest Measurement - 34 inches;

Complexion - Ruddy;

Eyes - Grey;

Hair - Brown.

After his successful enlistment, Percy was sent to Blackboy Hill Camp where he was assigned to the 11th Battalion AIF.

Percy trained with the 11th Battalion for the next few months while they waited for their embarkation orders to arrive. The 11th Battalion boarded the transport ship HMAT Medic in Fremantle Harbour on the 31st October 1914. The ship then pulled out into Gage Roads for two days and set sail on the 2nd November 1914.

The journey to Egypt took over three weeks and after arriving the men were marched to near Cairo where they set up camp at Mena near the pyramids.

The 11th Battalion trained in Egypt for the next few months and in March 1915 were shipped off to Lemnos Island to continue their training. Lemnos is a Greek island off the Turkish coast.

On the 25th April 1915 the 11th battalion landed as what is now known as North Beach, just to the north of Anzac Cove. The men made their way inland, fighting both the Turkish fire and the hostile terrain.

During the climb up the hill to the 1st Ridge Percy was shot through the knee. He managed to make his way back to the beach where rudimentary first aid was given.

Percy was then taken out to the Hospital Ship and was taken back to Egypt where he was admitted to the 17th General Hospital. It was decided after several weeks to transfer Percy to hospital in England so on the 14th July 1915 he left Alexandria.

Percy was in England until March 1916. His knee had been improving well and after medical examinations he was declared fit enough to return to his unit.

On arrival in Egypt in April 1916, Percy found that the 11th Battalion had already departed for France, so he was temporarily assigned to the 3rd Training Battalion.

However on the 29th April 1916 Percy was transferred into the 4th Pioneer Battalion. He trained with this group in Egypt for the next five weeks. On the 4th June the 4th Pioneers left Egypt aboard a troopship bound for France, reaching Marseilles on the 11th June 1916.

The 4th Australian Division were then sent north to the Armentieres region. They would have their first experience of trench life on the Western Front in this sector.

By July 1916 the 4th Division had moved to the Somme battlefield and Percy and the 4th Pioneer Battalion had a very hard task keeping the trenches and communication avenues clear under the very heavy German shellfire. Percy came through the actions at Pozieres and Mouquet Fram unscathed.

In January 1917 while working at the front, Percy was blown up by a shell and severely concussed. He seemed to have escaped unwounded but was admitted to hospital with severe shell shock.

He was admitted to the 9th General Hospital at Rouen and was then transferred to the 12th General Hospital. On the 26th February 1917 Percy was shipped to England where he was then taken to the Princess Military Hospital at Weymouth.

On the 18th April 917 Percy was transferred to Springfield Hospital for further treatment. Percy spent two months at Springfield and was then transferred to the 1st Australian Auxiliary Hospital at Harefield.

Due to his condition it was decided to return Percy to Australia for rest and further treatment. On the 22nd July 1917 Percy left England aboard the transport ship Nestor, reaching Fremantle on the 12th September 1917.

Percy was discharged from the AIF on the 18th October 1917.

He was subsequently granted a pension of 60/- per fortnight but in April 1918 this was reduced to 45/- per fortnight.

After his return home, Percy and Amy had another daughter called Hazel.

In 1922 the family was living at 31 George Street South Fremantle and Percy was working as a labourer.

By 1925 the family was living at 130 Hampton Rd South Fremantle and in 1936 was listed as living at 84 Hampton Road South Fremantle and was still  listed as working as a labourer.

By 1943 the family had moved to 86 Petra Street East Fremantle and was still living there in 1954.

Percy died on the 16th September 1955 aged 64. He was buried in Fremantle Cemetery Plot Anglican Mon A7 0312.