BARRON Percy Royd

Percy Barron was the quintessential gentleman. For 57 years a dedicated teacher, devoted soldier both during the war and in the years leading up to it and an outstanding contributor to the communities he lived and worked in.

He served for a total of 1637 days with 1372 being outside of Australia.

Percy was born on 8 April 1885 in Gympie. Records of any siblings have not been found. His father was John Barron who was born in Queensland in 1856 and mother was Eliza Jane Alexander who was born in 1860 in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. Eliza€™s mother died when she was only 4, shortly after the arrival of the family in Australia.

His father was living and working at €œKillarney€ Bauple via Tiaro in 1914 but no records as to when he arrived or left.

In his €œApplication for Commission€ we find that Percy was educated at Central Boys State School in Gympie. Percy became a teacher in and around Gympie and was Head Teacher at Bollon State School when WW1 broke out. Bollon School started in 1885 with 2 teachers and is still a thriving school in 2013 with 2 teachers. At the time Percy was there he was the only teacher.

We know from his enlistment papers that he joined on 25 January 1915 in Brisbane and was 29 years and 9 months at the time. He was 5€™4.5€ tall and 124lbs with brown hair and blue eyes and a Presbyterian.

Military Service:

1915 21 May Enlisted into B Squadron, 2nd Reinforcements, 11th Light Horse Regiment.
20 August Embarked in Sydney A9 HMAT €œShropshire€ with 1-7 Reinforcements of the Light Horse. 2 October Absorbed into the 5th Light Horse Regiment 20 October Reported for duty and attached to 5th Light Horse Regiment and served in Gallipoli 6 November Evacuated to hospital in Alexandria with €œneuralgia€.
13 November Transferred to 1st Australian General Hospital in Heliopolis, Cairo and diagnosed with gastritis/dysentery. 2 December Transferred to Helouan Convalescent Hospital. 1916 4 January Discharged from Helouan Convalescent Hospital to his unit. 18 February Admitted to hospital. 20 February Supernumary list 5 April Declared Fit for Duty and transferred to 4 Div Artillery at Heliopolis 18 May Transferred to 11th Div Artillery Corps at Serapeum. 6 June Joined BEF Alexandria.
13 June Disembarked at Marseille from €œOriana€. 24 June Detached to Signalling School. 12 August Transferred to 4th Aust Div, Medium and Heavy Trench Mortar Battery 25 August Transferred to 4th Trench Mortar Brigade 16 September Temporary detachment to Trench Mortar School of Instruction 16 October Admitted to hospital 16 December Admitted to 5th Aust Field Hospital with neurasthenia. Invalided and placed on seconded list. This was a common diagnosis during WW1 and was an attempt to distinguish between physical/psychological exhaustion and suffering from €œnerves€ which had negative connotations about courage and resilience. 21 December Admitted to hospital with €œindigestion€. 28 December Transferred from 20th General Hospital to 3rd London General Hospital at Wandsworth with inflamed stomach and neurasthenia. Embarked for England on HS €œWarilda€ at Le Havre. His medical records shows he had reported sick near the Somme and had told the doctor that his bowel was perforated in Cairo. 1917 8 March Discharged from 3rd London General Hospital to Packham Downs. Diagnosed with €œneurasthenia€. 16 March Placed on supernumerary list 3 June Proceeded to France from Tidworth to Le Havre and restored to the establishment list. 12 June Transferred to 4th Aust Div Artillery Company, Medium Trench Mortar Battery and taken on strength in the field. 21 June Transferred to NM & F Mortar Battery from 4th Aust Div Artillery Company 4 July Transferred to 4th Div, MTMB Ammunition Column. 1 September Promoted to Lt. 11 November Detached back to 4th Aust Div Artillery Company 16 December Admitted to hospital 1918 1 January Rejoined 4th Aust Heavy and Medium Trench Mortar Brigade 15 February Posted to 4th Aust Div, 1 Artillery owing to the reorganisation of the 4th MTMB. 12 April Transferred to Aust Corps Heavy Trench Mortar Battery in the field. 18 May AIF writes to his father to advise him that Percy has become a 2nd Lt (temporary) in the regular forces of the British Army. He was a Lt in the Australian Army. 21 August Wounded in action but remained on duty. 16 September Temporary detachment from 4th Div TMB to Trench Mortar School with notation €œin the field€. 3 December Transferred to 3 Army Brigade. 1919 3 January On Leave to UK 29 January Admitted to 3rd London General Hospital. 25 March Discharged to Overseas Training Brigade. April Embarked €œTrasos Montes€ or €œTraz-os-Montes€ for Australia 22 May Disembarked Melbourne. 19 July Appointment terminated.

After the war, Percy became the Honorary Secretary of the 11th Light Horse Reunion Association.

On 16 December 1926 Percy married Barbara Ellen Auchterlonie. She was born 16 June 1898 at Gympie and 13 years his junior. Born of Scottish grandparents on her father€™s side and Scottish and British parent on her mother€™s side. She was one of 9 children.

Barbara lost 3 brothers during WW1. Cecil (25th Battalion) had received a MC in 1918 in France, a few weeks later he received a bar to the MC and within a fortnight he died at Harbonnier. Bertrand (15th Battalion) was killed at Gallipoli on 8 August 1915 and his brother Archibald (25th Battalion) died on 20 October 1915 also at Gallipoli.

There is an obscure note about a child born in 1927 but no official records of any child born to Percy and Barbara can be found.

We know that Percy occupied a property at the Beerburrum Soldiers Settlement prior to December 1922 and taught at the Beerburrum School during that time. Dept of Public Lands records show that in 1924 the Department wrote to Percy to request payment for goods provided at the Beerburrum property. He was teaching at the State School at Augathella via Charleville at the time. On 11 July 1924 Percy responded very firmly to the contention that he owed the Department any money. It gives us insight into the man and what happened during those years at Beerburrum.

Percy contends that Mr O. Hayes (Administrator) and the Chief Clerk had been hostile to him during his time in Beerburrum and he believed they were behind the accusations and being raised to not only himself but the Department of Education. He stated that his brother in law had taken over the property when he left and the goods, a few tools, were still there. The horse provided at the time was unfit with a severe limp and had to be put down. Percy had replaced it with a sound one. He went on to point out that he had increased the value of the property to the 2nd highest on the estate. He was very active in the community and was President of the Poultry Society and Cricket Club; Red Cross Representative; Captain of the Football Club, Vice Captain of Tennis and on the committees for Fruitgrowers, Hospital, Cemetery and Church.
He expressed anger at being accused of theft and neglect. It appears to have been an end to the matter!

Percy wrote to Army Record Office for details to enable him to get a home loan on 25 April 1951 from the School House at Cordalba, Qld. By now he was 66 . We next see a letter from Percy to Army Office on 14 April 1967 requesting the Gallipoli Medal. At the time he is living at €œMoulin Petit€, 22 City View Rod at Camp Hill.

He died on 8 November 1981 at the age of 96, just 3 days after his wife Barbara who lived to 83.

The Anzac Commemorative Medallion was instituted 1967. It was awarded to surviving members of the Australian forces who served on the Gallipoli Peninsula, or in direct support of the operations from close off shore, at any time during the period from the first Anzac Day in April 1915 to the date of final evacuation in January 1916.

Percy Royd Barron led the diggers at the 1978 ANZAC Day march in Brisbane in 1978. He was one of the last Light Horseman to survive in Qld and still very proud to have not only served his country in war but to have spent over 50 years educating young Queenslanders.

• Egypt
• Gallipoli
• Western Front

Image: AWM ID P01361.003 Group portrait of the 2nd Reinforcements, 11th Australian Light Horse Regiment who embarked from Sydney on troopship HMAT Shropshire on 20 August 1915. Taken at Brisbane abt August 1915. Percy is centre in 2nd row.

Letter from Dead Farm File of Percy Barron. Queensland State Archives.