ATKINSON, David Percy


No.G/18152, Private, David Percy ATKINSON
Aged 27


7th Battalion, Queen's Own (Royal West Kent Regiment)
Killed in Action on 12th October 1917


David Percy Atkinson was born in Stanningfield (4th qtr 1889 Thingoe 4a:672), son of Alfred and ATKINSON (née TIFFEN)

1891 census...Aged 1, he was at the General Shop, Stanningfield with his father Alfred ATKINSON [46] grocer; his mother Sarah [45] born Bradfield Combust; brothers Edward [15], Leonard [6] and Abner [4]; sisters Alice [13] and Kate [11]. All except his mother were born in Stanningfield.

1901 census...Aged 11, he was at The Post Office, Stanningfield with his parents (father now sub Postmaster/grocer); brothers Edward (grocer's assistant), Leonard (postal worker),and Abner; sisters Alice E and Kate M.

1911 census...Aged 21, a domestic groom, he was at The Post Office still with his widower father; sister Alice and cousin Winifred [ 15] born Walton Suffolk; brother Abner; nephew Reginald P STERRY [8] born Stanningfield. His mother had died in 1910, having lost one of her six children

On the pension card his sister Kate was at Stanningfield

His nephew Geoffrey STERRY was killed in France in 1942 see here


He attested in Bury St.Edmunds on 10th December 1915, and was mobilised on 29th May 1916 as N0.2660, 3rd/1st Suffolk Yeomanry. He gave his age as 25 years 7 months (in May 1916), farm worker, single, from Stanningfield. Next of kin, his father Alfred, he was 5 feet 8.75 inches tall, chest 32.5 to 35.5 inches, weighed 132 lbs.
Posted to BEF via Folkestone-Boulogne on 27th August 1916 and posted to 1st 4th Suffolks. Transferred to 7th Royal West Kents on 7th September 1916 as No. G/18162.

His Army career matched that of Herman Clarke, including being killed on the same day .. see here

The war diary has a very comprehensive report, but in essence the 7th Queen's Own were holding a line from Poelcappelle Church to the NW as on the view below.
When the attack started our barrage was seemingly erratic and ineffective, worse still was that when the German counter barrage opened, in places it overlapped. The flank battalions made some progress, but the centre stalled. The mud was appalling, fouling the rifles and making any sort of progress virtually impossible
The Queen's Own were actually being kept as the counter attacking battalion between Delta House and Retour Cross Roads. By the end of the day they had established strong-points as shown.

CWGC figures put the killed of the 7th Queen's Own on the 12th as 100 of which only 18 have identified graves, the rest being named on the memorial at Tyne Cot.






Photo CWGC

David Atkinson is commemorated on the Tyne Cot Memorial, Belgium panels 106-108

click here to go to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website for full cemetery/memorial details


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