Private Percy Douglas Pitt
| Date of Birth | 25/05/1879 |
|---|---|
| Age at Death | 41 |
| Date of Death | 15/10/1917 |
| Service Number | 30011 |
| Military Service | East Surrey Regiment 9th Bn |
| Merton Address | 42 Garden Avenue Mitcham, Surrey |
| Local Memorial | St. Barnabas' Church, Mitcham |
Additional Information
Percy Douglas and his twin brother Ernest Reginald were the eldest sons of Jessy Franklin Pitt and Squire John Pitt, the twins were born on the 25th of May 1879. The twins father according to the 1871 Census has described his occupation as a clerk to a Colonial Broker.
The twins mother Jessy Franklin had met and married Squire John Franklin on the 28th of January 1871 at St Paul’s Church in Deptford, Kent.
The 1881 Census reveals that Squire John describes his occupation as a Navy Leather Broker and that Jessy and Squire John resided at Melrose Villa, Lansdown Road Wanstead in Essex with their 4 children with their 21-year-old servant Emma Wells.
In 1888, telephone records place the Pitt family residing at 20 Mark-Lane EC. Squire John Pitt was a member of the Hornsey Free Mason Lodge until he resigned in February 1892.
According to the electoral register for 1892, the Pitt family resided at Fernthorp, Venner Road, Sydenham, Kent. Percy Douglas’s eldest sister died at the age of 30 years on the 30th of September in 1892.
Baptismal records reveal that Percy Douglas was baptised with his brother Raymond and sister Ethel on the 27th 0f March in 1894. According to these records, the Pitt family resided at 69 Elmfield Avenue in Balham.
The 1901 Census reveals that 21 -year-old Percy Douglas employed as a clerk to a firm of brokers, he was living with his family at 69 Elmfield Road in Balham. Percy Douglas’s father died on the 30th of September 1904 at Penrith in Cumberland.
Electoral register from 1905 to 1911 reveal that Percy Douglas rented a single furnished room on the second floor at 5 Crockerton Road where his mother was his land lady.
0n the 17thof of September 1910, 31-year-old Percy married 27-year-old Amy Gertrude Starkey at Holy Trinity Church in Tooting.
According to the 1911 Census, 32-year-old Percy Douglas and his wife Amy Gertrude were living at 51 Nevis Road in Upper Tooting. Percy was employed as a clerk on the Stock Exchange.
0n 22nd of November 1912, Amy and Percy’s son Douglas Alfred John was born, he was baptised at the Holy Trinity Church on 12th of January 1913. Baptismal records reveal that Percy describes himself as a Stock Jobbers clerk.
According to the 1914 electoral register the Pitt family continued to reside at 51 Nevis Road in Tooting.
Percy Douglas’s service record is not available through Ancestry. He enlisted as a private in the Middlesex Regiment (Duke of Cambridge’s 0wn) at Kingston Surrey and was killed in action while serving with the 9th battalion East Surrey Regiment on the 15th 0f September 1917 and was buried at Hargicourt Cemetery in France.
Probate of Percy Douglas’s will reveal that he left his estate of £295.15s to his widow Amy Gertrude at 42 Garden Avenue in Mitcham in 1917.