#11274 Lance Corporal Percy Williams
2ND WELSH REGIMENT
PERCY WILLIAMS WAS A 20-YEAR-OLD colliery worker from South Wales, driving an engine at Gwaun-cae-Gurwen. Born in Cardiff and educated at the National School in Swansea, he enlisted particularly early, ten days after war broke out, and arrived on the Western Front in February 1915.
As the Gloucesters were withdrawn from the fight for Munster Alley and Reginald Minahan fell, it was the turn of another band of Welshmen to enter the fray when his battalion, the 2nd Welsh Regiment, relieved the South Wales Borderers in the line. That night they were to attack Munster Alley shortly after midnight, but their advance was postponed for two hours because of confusion in the trenches owing to the number of wounded lying in them. Two hours later they rushed forward with no preliminary bombardment in the hope that it would catch the German machine gunners by surprise and ease their path. They got nowhere.
During the morning, news of Australian progress on their left came in and Percy’s battalion was ordered to commence bombing up Munster Alley to attempt to link up with them. At first they gained 250 yards of trench and appeared to have reached their objective, but the Germans counter-attacked with their own bombs and also over open ground. In spite of inflicting heavy losses on the enemy with their Lewis guns, the Welsh were exhausted and were driven back to their original position, where they set about consolidating a portion of Munster Alley that was now in British hands.
Percy Williams was reported wounded and missing after the day’s fighting and was later assumed to have been killed on 26th July. His body, if recovered, was never identified and he is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial, Pier & Face 7a/10a.