31274 Pte Percy Hoodless, 7th Bn,

31274 Private Percy Hoodless of the 7th Battalion, South Lancashire Regiment, was killed in action on the 23rd September 1917. He was the son of Mrs Eliza Hoodless of Chapel Street Alford in Lincolnshire and, according to Soldiers Died in The Great War, had previously served with the South Staffordshire Regiment (number 25784).

Percy's medal index card at the National Archives makes no mention of his South Staffs service and so he must have transferred from this regiment to the South Lancs Regiment whilst still in England. The South Staffs number dates to June 1916 and the South Lancs number probably to October or November the same year.

Percy was living in Alford at the time of his enlistment, and he enlisted at Lincoln. There is no age given by the Commonwealth war Graves Commission, and no service record appears to survive for Percy. However, a quick search of the 1901 census returns for England and Wales reveals that he was a 19 year old "shoemaker" when that census was taken and therefore must have been around 35 when he was killed.

Percy Hoodless is buried in Woods Cemetery, 4 kms south east of Ypres town centre. His grave reference is II.CC.2

At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, WE WILL REMEMBER THEM.

Sources:

Ancestry.co.uk (MIC)
Army Ancestry
Army Service Numbers 1881-1918
Commonwealth War Graves Commission