Percy Herbert Cherry VC MC (1895 - 1917)

Ancestors

Biography

Lieutenant Percy Herbert Cherry VC MC was born on 4th June 1895 at Drysdale, Victoria, Australia. He was a son of John Cherry and his wife Elizabeth (nee Russell).^[1]

Military Service

Percy served in the militia in Tasmania before enlisting on 5th March 1915 in the Australian Imperial Force.^[2] As a Quarter Master Sergeant, he embarked aboard HMAT Aeneas A60 on 29th June 1915 from Brisbane.^[3] Deploying to the Gallipoli peninsula with the 26th Australian Infantry Battalion, Percy was wounded in action on 1st December 1915. Upon returning to his unit, Percy was commissioned as a Lieutenant. He deployed to the Western Front in 1916 with the 7th Australian Machine Gun Company, with whom he served with distinction during the Battle of Pozieres and at Walencourt; where he was again wounded.

Promoted to Captain and transferred back to the 26th Battalion as a company commander, on 26th March 1917 Percy's unit was ordered to capture the village of Lagnicourt, and his company had the task of sweeping into the village. There was strong enemy opposition, and soon all of the officers in the company became casualties. He organised machine-gun and bombing (grenade-throwing) parties, sent back frequent reports of progress, and, when wounded later in the action, refused to leave his post. Late in the afternoon, however, a single shell killed him instantly. He is buried in Quéant Road Cemetery, Buissy, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France. He never learnt of the honours bestowed upon him: a Military Cross^[4] for an earlier engagement and the Victoria Cross^[5] for Lagnicourt were both announced after his death.^[6]

Victoria Cross

Date: 11 MAY 1917

Place: Awarded Victoria Cross, For most conspicuous bravery, determination and leadership when in command of a company detailed to storm and clear a village. After all the officers of his company had become casualties he carried on with care and determination.../France

Percy Herbert Cherry's name is located at panel 107 in the Commemorative Area at the Australian War Memorial, Canberra.^[7]

Sources

1. ↑ Victoria Birth Index #9382/1895; registered at Bellarine
2. ↑ Australian War Memorial nominal roll: 1023 Captain Percy Herbert Cherry; accessed 24 Apr 2020
3. ↑ Australian War Memorial embarkation roll: 1023 Captain Percy Herbert Cherry; accessed 24 Apr 2020
4. ↑ Australian War Memorial honours and awards: 1023 Captain Percy Herbert Cherry MC; accessed 24 Apr 2020
5. ↑ Australian War Memorial honours and awards: 1023 Captain Percy Herbert Cherry VC; accessed 24 Apr 2020
6. ↑ Australian War Memorial bio and timeline; accessed 24 Apr 2020
7. ↑ Australian War Memorial roll of honour: 1023 Captain Percy Herbert Cherry; accessed 24 Apr 2020

• "Family Tree," database, FamilySearch (http://familysearch.org : modified 09 June 2016, 23:45), entry for Percy Herbert Cherry(PID https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/4:1:LZ5X-8YJ); contributed by various users.
• Wikipedia:Percy_Cherry
• Percy Herbert CHERRY from the AIF PROJECT website first accessed online on the 21st of May, 2023.
• CAPTAIN PERCY HERBERT CHERRY ©2023 Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
• Find a Grave, database and images (accessed 21 May 2023), memorial page for Percy Herbert Cherry (4 Jun 1895–27 Mar 1917), Find a Grave Memorial ID Find A Grave: Memorial #9949462, citing Queant Road Cemetery, Buissy, Departement du Pas-de-Calais, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France; Maintained by Find a Grave.