YATES Percy

Percy was the third of the ten children of Samuel (Sam) Yates and Wilhelmina (Lina/Lena) Juillerat, who were married in Queensland in 20 April 1892. His father, Sam, was born in Queensland 7 Nov 1869 and died there 9 September 1948. Lina was the daughter of Swiss immigrants, Frederick (Fred) Augustus Juillerat and Marie; she was born on the ship (FRIEDEBURG) which brought the family to Brisbane in 1871.

The 'Queensland Times' (Ipswich), Thursday, 2 March 1916: LOCAL RECRUITING - Dr E. E. Brown, acting local recruiting officer, yesterday examined three volunteers. Two were rejected as unfit, but Percy Yates was accepted.

He enlisted on 10 March 1916 in Brisbane.

Percy's occupation on his enlistment was "farm labourer", possibly for his father, who was farming then at Peak Crossing near Ipswich. He was allocated to the 5th Reinforcements of the 47th Battalion and sailed from Pinkenba on A49 (HMAT Seang Choon). He disembarked at Plymouth, England on 9 December 1916 and proceeded on the same day to 12th Training Battalion.

He subsequently embarked from Folkestone, Kent, for France, and was taken on strength of the 47th Battalion on 11 February 1917. After its involvement in the Battle of Pozieres (July-Sept 1916), the 47th spent 7-8 months alternating between duty in the trenches, training and rest behind the lines. On the 11th of April 1917 the 47th was one of eight Australian Battalions (comprising two Brigades) which took part in what was to become known as the First Battle of Bullecourt. The attack was mounted against the heavily defended village of Bullecourt, which was part of the formidable Hindenburg Line to which the Germans had retreated during February and March. The attacking Australian infantry managed to break into the German defences. Due to uncertainty as to how far they had advanced, supporting artillery fire was withheld, and eventually the Australians were hemmed in and forced to retreat. Devoid of surprise and dependent upon the support of unreliable tanks, the attack failed and the action considered a disaster. There were 3,300 casualties and 1170 Australian were taken prisoner - the largest number captured in a single action during the war. Percy was numbered among the prisoners taken and he was held at Dulmen POW camp until the end of the war, although his papers state he was captured at Renicourt.

He received wounds to a leg and an arm and became a prisoner-of-war of the Germans, held at Dulmen POW camp in Germany. His parents were notified in May 1917 that Percy was Missing in Action, but it would not be until September 1917 that they would be informed he was a POW.

Percy's grand-daughter, Andrena King, recalls: "My grandfather only talked a little about his time overseas. The following is what I know. After he was wounded he lay in the snow for two days before the Germans found him. He had a bad wound to the leg and shrapnel in his arm also. When the German soldier found him, my grandfather managed to indicate to him that he needed a drink of water. The soldier handed over his canteen which my grandfather proceeded to empty. The German was not very happy about this and my grandfather thought for a while he might have just got himself shot.

"After he arrived at Dulmen camp he had a German doctor who visited every day with an English interpreter and on the day of the surgery on his leg he was asked through the interpreter whether he wanted an English doctor or a German doctor to do the surgery. My grandfather laughed and replied that he was a prisoner and so he didn't have any choice. The German doctor then replied, in perfect English, that today he was the patient and it was his choice - so he chose the German doctor. He found out later that he was the top surgeon in the world at the time and had been trained in England prior to the war. He operated and saved my grandfather's leg. He was also told that an English doctor would have amputated the leg. My grandfather had a hole in his leg that I could put my fist into, and still had shrapnel in it until he died.

"He always said he was well treated in Dulmen and that when he could walk again he sometimes helped out in the theatre holding patients down while surgery was performed."

Almost a month after the Armistice was declared, he was repatriated to England on 7 December 1918. The 'Queensland Times', Thursday 9 January 1919 reported: "Mr and Mrs S Yates, Peak Crossing, have received a cable from their sons, Cpl. J F Yates and Pte. Percy Yates, stating that they had met and were on leave together in Scotland ... "

On 20 May 1919 the same newspaper carried a report headed PEAK CROSSING WELCOME HOME. The MC, having made special reference to the district men who "paid the supreme sacrifice ... then welcomed the two returned men, Pte P Yates and Trooper C H Young, and presented the district's medal to each ..." The medal referred to is the one pictured above.

Percy moved to Maroochydore in the 1920s and, apart from a brief spell at Toogoolawah, he remained on the Sunshine Coast for the rest of his life.He tried his hand at various occupations: labourer sawmiller, car driver and farmer.

On 31st October 1925, Percy married Janet Bailey at St Andrew's Presbyterian Church, Esk. Their grand-daughter, Andrena King said: "Both my grandparents were very involved with the Maroochydore RSL, with them being foundation members of the Sub-Branch and Women's Auxiliary respectively."

Photos and personal recollections courtesy of Andrena King; photo of Dulmen POW camp - Australian War Memorial; War Diary of the 47th Infantry Battalion - Australian War Memorial.