| Description | Work completed by volunteer includes the following information
Percy was born in Beverley the 4 Jun 1898 and baptised at St Nicholas' church the 15 Sep 1898, the son of George Akrill, tailor and Jane Eliza (nee Milner). The family home was Enfields, 40 Trinity Lane, Beverley. After leaving school he worked as a draper's errand boy before becoming a tannery labourer.
Percy joined the army on 5 Jun 1916 and went to France in 1917. He served as a private with the 15th Battalion of the West Yorkshire Regiment, the Leeds Pals. After a German offensive in 1918 Percy was taken prisoner at Ayette, 15km south of Arras. He was transferred to the POW camp at Parchim, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The camp contained 25,000 men but a further 40,000 were out-stationed in work camps. Conditions in 1918 were tough with overcrowding and food shortages. Percy was initially reported as missing, his father only received news from the International Red Cross about his captivity in early Jun 1918. He was released at the end of 1918 and left the Army on 20 Jan 1919.
Percy joined the Beverley Borough Police, and later the East Riding Constabulary, he reached the rank of Sergeant by 1939 and received a number of commendations. On 13 Aug 1923 he married Ivy Braithwaite at Beverley Minster. They had two children, Audrey born 1925 and Philip born 1929. The family later lived in Driffield and in Bridlington. It was in the latter town that Percy died on 14 Oct 1960 aged 62. Ivy died in 1981.
Includes information taken from census, military records, Commonwealth War Graves, newspapers |