Percy Honeybill 20th May 1887 – 2nd September 1918

Percy grew up in a family of boys. His parents, William and Harriet, had eleven children of whom only two, Evelyn (born 1880) and Edith May (born 1894) were girls.

Percy had four older brothers, Albert, Evelyn’s twin (born 1880), Alfred (born 1882) , William A (born 1883) and Frederick (born 1885) and four younger brothers, John (born 1888) the year after Percy, Granville (born 1890), George (born 1892) and Edward (born 1896). Two or more of his brothers died in childhood, baby Granville died in 1890 his birth year and Frederick died five years later in 1985 having only lived for ten years. It is possible that his oldest brother, Albert, Evelyn’s twin also died as a baby as there is no mention of him in the 1881 census which simply records William and Harriet and Evelyn as living at The Lodge, Brighton Grove, Rusholme so we can assume that Percy will never have known Albert.

In 1891 the family were living at Portland Grove, Withington with his thirty eight year old father William still working as a Coachman and domestic servant. By then there were six children, Evelyn aged 10, Alfred aged 9, William A aged 7, Frederick aged 6, Percy aged 3 and the toddler John aged 2.

By the time of the 1901 census they had moved to what was then called 1 Lancaster Road, South Manchester and the three older children were working; twenty year old Evelyn as a dressmaker, nineteen year old Alfred and seventeen year old William A were both Joiners (Journeyman). Percy was aged thirteen and with his younger siblings,John, George, Edith May and Edward, will have been at school. Percy attended the Manchester Dulcie Avenue School from 1892 until 1901.

By 1911 Percy was the oldest child still living at home aged twenty three and working as a bookkeeper. John aged twenty two was a plumber and George was a joiner apprentice. Even the fourteen year old Edward was working as an office boy and the sixteen year old Edith May’s occupation is described as ‘at home’. 

Percy got married in 1914 to Dorothy Mabel Lummis and presumably left home that year. In the National Probate  calendar just four years later on 1st November 1918 their address is recorded as 15 Wilton Road,Cholton-cum-Hardy.