Joseph Percy's Story.
Joseph was born in Duneden, New Zealand around 1887. His grandfather, John Hope Clarke, was a cotton spinner on Pollard Street, Ancoats, Manchester. By the time of the 1901 Census, Joseph was living in Stockport, aged 14 and working as a cotton doffer. His parents, were Henry Cheetham Clarke and Catherine Mackenzie Ross Clarke.
At the age of 16, on 7 November 1903, Joseph joined the regular army and became 7303 Private Clarke he was sent to India where he served with the Regiment for 8 years. On the night of Sunday 2nd April, the 1911 census was taken it lists Joseph with the Cheshire's who were still in India but lists him as absent in England. On the 16th September 1911, he was discharged at his own request, on payment of £25 under article 1058 (1) Pay Warrant. On his return to the Stockport area, he worked as a tram guard for Stockport Corporation. Usually, an ex-regular would have been required to spend several years on the reserve List and would have been subject to recall when War was declared in August 1914.
This doesn't seem to have happened with Joseph as a newspaper reported that he tried to enlist in October 1914 but was rejected because of a hernia. However, his service number is consistent with him enlisting in late August or early September 1914. The 2nd Cheshire’s were still in India at this stage and did not arrive back in Britain until Christmas Eve. It seems probable that, when he was recalled, Joseph was rejected because of his complaint, but he somehow managed to re-enlist as though he was a new recruit. His service papers show that he did finally enlist on the 12th November 1914, and on the 22nd February, he went to France. His visit was brief, lasting just 26 days, he was admitted to hospital on the 14th of March with a hernia and five days later he was back in England.
He stayed in the UK till the 14th July. His time at the front was brief, 33 days later, on 15th August, Joseph was in trenches at Lindenhoek (about 13 kilometres south of the town centre of Ypres). The Battalion's War Dairy makes no mention of casualties but a letter from one of his comrades says that, about 7am, he was shot in the head (presumably by a sniper) and died instantly.