Trevor Barry
Battle of Flers 5 November 1916 Hi, Percy Boomer, who was my 1st cousin twice removed (my Nana's cousin), was KIA on 5 November 1916, 99 years ago today. Percy served in the AIF 27th Battalion and embarked at Adelaide on 21 September 1915 arriving at the Lemnos marshalling point at Mudros Harbour some time in late November or early December 1915. He was admitted to the Canadian hospital at Mudros on 7 December 1915 suffering from a case of Mumps and was not discharged until 20 December 1915 which was the final day of the evacuation from Gallipoli. Percy’s illness may well have saved him from being a part of that hell. Percy then arrived at Marseilles from Alexandria on 21 March 1916 and saw various actions until 4 August 1916 when he received shrapnel wounds at Pozieres. He recovered and returned to action on 21 September 1916 and was promoted to Lance Corporal on 29 September 1916. On the morning of 5 November 1916 Percy was killed in action in the battle of Flers when his company from the 27th is reported to have attacked ‘the Maze’ and ‘Bayonet Trench’. While Percy was identified and personal effects were returned to his Mother, he has no known grave and presumably lies in the fields near Flers. He is commemorated on the Villers-Bretonneux memorial which I visited in October 2013 and from which I determined to visit Flers and the surrounding area on 5 November 2016. Hopefully I will see you and many others on that day. I have attached a photo of Percy for info. Your website looks great and is a credit to you. I look forward to its completion. Regards Trevor Barry