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10699 1st Battalion, King’s Own (Royal Lancaster Regiment)
Percy Lumley was born in Sudbury around 1893, the son of Alfred and Sarah Lumley. His father was a bricklayer and the family lived at 94 East Street.
Percy enlisted in Ipswich and served with the King’s Own, Royal Lancaster Regiment. The battalion which formed part of 12th Brigade, 4th Division was part of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) sent over to France after war was declared in August 1914. It is not known if he went over to France at this time or joined the battalion at a later date.
In the beginning of 1915 the battalion was in the Le Touquet sector, they were relieved at the end of April and moved to billets in Bailleul. Two days later they were sent to take over the trenches at Wieltje.
In the spring of 1915 the battalion saw action at the Second Battle of Ypres (22 April - 25 May) when the enemy launched a surprise attack using poisonous gas for the first time. The battalion war diary records a gas attack on 2 May at 4.30pm. They were relieved on 10th but moved back into the front line on 13th. On 21 May they were sent to Mouse Trap Farm near Vlamertinghe where on 24th the war diary records the enemy attacked with gas at 2.30am.
Percy died aged 22 on 24 May 1915. There is no known grave and he is remembered on the Menin Gate Memorial, Ypres, Belgium.
His medal card shows that he was awarded the British War Medal and Victory Medal. An oversight may have occurred – if he was serving in France between1914-1915 he would have been entitled to either the 1914 or 1914-1915 Star. It was not uncommon for relatives to have to apply for medals after the war.
A Cross of Remembrance was laid at the Menin Gate Memorial in April 2006,
April 2009 and October 2012.
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