Berry, Percy Haycraft
Held appointment as A.H.S. 1914. Served with the R.A.M.C. and Western Frontier Force, Egypt. Drowned trying to save another man
Letter from V, Gendining dated 24/3/1916:- (1 Mildred Ave., Watford, Herts)
Dear Sir,
I have received numerous letters of enquiry from his friends as to how P.H. Berry met his death. The following are a few particulars about the later part of his career which I feel very many of his contemporaries are anxious to hear.
Percy Berry left General Practice to join the R.A.M.C. on May 1st 1915 and shortly afterwards left Aldershot for Alexandria with a draft. He was appointed to the Hospital Ship "Assaye" and was engaged in transporting the wounded from Gallipoli through the summer and autumn. Subsequently he was attached as M.O. to the Berkshire Yeomanry and with them joined the Western Frontier Force of Egypt in the campaign against Senussi. In this he was completely happy and declared that he had at last found the ideal form of warfare.
The official account of his death stated:-
On 10th March at Berrani - seeing a man drowning - plunged off rock into heavy surf with all his clothes on to rescue. Immediately a big wave broke over him and he disappeared. Body found later with large wounds, head, apparently Anti-Mortem.
He was buried 11th March1916 at Berrani. All who knew him will remember how typical the end of the man. Berry was too well known to require any attempt at description in a hospital paper. Guy's Hospital Reports Vol.LXX, War Memorial Number
Biographical
| Surname(s) | Berry |
|---|---|
| First name(s) | Percy Haycraft |
| Date of birth | 1888 |
| Place of birth | Watford District |
| Family details | Son of Frederick and Alice Haycraft Berry, of Oxford House, Watford |
| Previous education | Malvern College, King's College, Cambridge |
| College | Guy's Hospital |
| Dates at college | September 1910-1913 |
| Dept / course | Cambridge M.B. |
| Qualifications | L.R.C.P. M.R.C.S 1913 |
| Military unit | Royal Army Medical Corps, Berkshire Yeomanry |
| War / conflict | World War One (1914-1918) |
| Campaigns | Gallipoli; Western Frontier Force, Egypt |
| Date of death | 10 March 1916 |
| Age at death | 27 |
| Rank at death | Lieutenant |
| Cause of death | Drowned trying to save another man |
| Burial place | Alexandria (Hadra) War Memorial Cemetery |
| Commemoration(s) | Guy's Hospital Memorial |
| Sources | Guy's Hospital Medical School Records, King's College London Archives; Commonwealth War Graves Commission |