Percy Ledger Raw (1878-1952)
Hamsteels born joiner ended his service in Canadian Army as a clerk in Canada
Despite claiming to have been born in 1881, Percy Ledger Raw was born on 3 November 1878 in Hamsteels, a village about five miles from Durham City. His parents were Northumberland-born Joseph, a colliery cashier, and his wife, Jane Ann. At the time of Percy’s birth the family were living in Hamsteels House, where Percy and his three younger siblings were brought up. By 1891 Joseph had become a quarry manager, and the family had moved to Garmondsway, near Coxhoe, where Sydney was born in 1892, and Percy was working as a joiner. In April 1898 Joseph was found dead in a railway carriage at Rowlands Gill. Two years later, Jane Ann had also died and, by 1901, Vivian was the head of the household in Coxhoe, living with his sisters and young Sydney. When the census was taken in 1901, Percy was a guest of the Wright family in West Hartlepool.
April 1911 saw Percy embarking for a new life in Canada; he sailed from Liverpool on board the SS Southwark making for Saskatchewan and a job as a carpenter. He returned to England once, three years later, to visit his sisters. After the declaration of war
he enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) on 27 November 1914 in Saskatoon. He named his younger sister, Minnie, now living in Gateshead, as his next of kin and mentioned his time in a local militia group.
Did he purposely lie about his age to make himself younger than he really was, or was it accidental? Either way, he became Private 73576 of the 28th Battalion. After initial training at Camp Sewell in Manitoba, the battalion embarked for England on 29 May 1915 and a stay at camp in Dibgate, near Folkestone, Kent. Finding himself in France by September of that year, on 1 December 1915 Percy was transferred to 6 Field Company, 2nd Canadian Engineers, a unit he remained with for the next 20 months.
April 1917 saw Sapper Raw admitted to hospital in Boulogne with PUO [pyrexia of unknown origin or fever] and was then evacuated to England and a stay of 84 days in hospital at Cambridge and Epsom suffering from trench fever. On his release from hospital he was posted to the Canadian Engineers Depot at Crowborough, Sussex. With a Medical Board in December only considering him fit for sedentary work as a clerk, he returned to Canada the following March. Posted to the 12th Battalion, Canadian Garrison Regiment in Regina, Percy remained with them until discharge from the CEF at the end of March 1920.
Percy returned to life as a carpenter, firstly in Regina, but by the mid-1920s had moved to Vancouver, British Columbia, where he remained for the next 28 years, working as a carpenter until the time of his death.
Percy Ledger Raw died in Vancouver General Hospital on 26 January 1952 from pulmonary oedema, aggravated by leukaemia. According to his death certificate his family details were taken from the records of the Last Post Fund, which ensures that veterans receive a dignified funeral and burial. Sapper 78576 is buried in Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver.
Civil Parish: Hartlepool
Birth date: 03-Nov-1878
Death date: 26-Jan-1952
Armed force/civilian: Army
Residence: Hamsteels House, Hamsteels, Durham (1881 census)
Garmondsway Moor, Coxhoe (1891 census)
Blackwell, Coxhoe (1901 census)
28 South Road, West Hartlepool (1901 census)
1390 Granville Street, Vancouver (enlistment papers)
917 16th Avenue, Regina, Saskatchewan (1921 Canadian census)
1390 Granville Street, Vancouver (1935 voters list)
1046 Apartment 72, 1046 Granville Street, Vancouver (1940 voters list)
1675 11th Avenue West, Vancouver (1945 voters list)
1025 42nd Avenue West, Vancouver (death certificate)
Religion: Church of England
Employment: joiner (1891 census)
Family: Parents: Joseph Raw, Jane Ann Raw nee Robson
Siblings: Vivian Whitfield Raw, Minnie Robson Raw, Eleanor Robson Raw, Sydney Raw
Military service:
73576
Sapper
28th Battalion Canadian Expeditionary Force
6 Field Company, 2nd Canadian Engineers
Canadian Engineers Depot
12th Battalion, Canadian Garrison Regiment
Medal(s): British War Medal
Victory Medal
Gender: Male
Contributed by Jean Longstaff, Durham