Percy Moulding

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Grave/Memorial:  		Moulding, Percy

1881, Knaphill, Woking

Henry and Alice (née Webster)

4th Battalion, Middlesex Regiment

6924

Private

15 October 1914, France, age 32

Vieille-Chapelle New Military Cemetery, Vieille-Chapelle, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France: V. C. 2. 		   

Biography:
Percy Moulding was born in 1881, in Knaphill, Woking. He was the son and second child of Henry, a butcher, and Alice Maude (néeWebster).
He had five brothers and four sisters.

Percy’s brother, William Arthur Moulding, and two of his cousins are also commemorated on the St John’s Memorial.

Percy presumably attended Knaphill School. After leaving school, he went into the butchery trade; he also became a well-known cricketer and footballer,
for the village teams.

At 17 (presumably) Percy joined the Army, serving with the 4th Battalion, The Middlesex Regiment. In 1901, the Battalion was at Cambridge Barracks,
Woolwich. He presumably signed up for 7 or 10 years as, in 1911 he was working as a labourer.

At the outbreak of the war, Percy presumably a reservist, rejoined the battalion, then based at Devonport.

On 14 Aug 1914, the battalion landed in France at Boulogne as part of the British Expeditionary Force. The battalion was the first British battalion to
engage the German forces in the war at the Battle of Mons. Along with the 4th Battalion, The Royal Fusiliers, the 4th Middlesex held up 8 attacking
German battalions until overwhelmed by artillery fire and manpower. The battle decimated the units’ ranks and before the end of the year, the 4th
Battalion was pulled out of the line.

Percy Moulding was killed on 15 October 1914. He is buried, in grave V. C. 2, within Vieille-Chapelle New Military Cemetery, Vieille-Chapelle, France.


The Old Military Cemetery (now removed) was closed in November 1915, as being too near the school; and the New
Military Cemetery was begun in that month and used by fighting units and Field Ambulances until March 1918. The village
and the cemetery fell into German hands in the following month, in the Battles of the Lys; but in September 1918, on the
German retirement, some further burials took place. These original graves are in Plot I and Plot IV, Rows A and B.

The remainder of the cemetery was made after the Armistice, by the concentration of British, Indian and Portuguese graves
from the neighbouring battlefields and from other cemeteries; but the Portuguese graves were removed to Richebourg-
L'Avoue Portuguese National Cemetery in 1925, and three German prisoners graves have also been removed.

There are now nearly 1,000, 1914-18 war casualties commemorated in this site. Almost all fell in 1914, 1915 or 1918,
and most of those who fell in 1918 belonged to the 55th (West Lancashire) Division.


Percy is also commemorated on the Woking Town Square memorial