Name
Victor George Thomas Perkins
13 April 1897
Conflict
First World War
Date of Death / Age
22/03/1918
20
Rank, Service Number & Service Details
Private
23762
Bedfordshire Regiment
7th Bn.
Awards: Service Medals/Honour Awards
British War and Victory medals
Cemetery/Memorial: Name/Reference/Country
POZIERES MEMORIAL
Panel 28 and 29.
France
Headstone Inscription
N/A
UK & Other Memorials
Hemel Hempstead Town Memorial, Leverstock Green Village Memorial, Leverstock Green Village School Memorial, Inscription on family grave, Leverstock Green churchyard
Pre War
Victor Perkins was born in East Sheen, Mortlake, Surrey on 13 April 1897, the eldest son of Tom and Mary Perkins, and one of four children. He was baptised on 9 May 1897 at Christ Church, East Sheen, Surrey. at which time the family were living at Orchard Cottage, East Sheen, Mortlake and his father was a gardener. They remained living there on the 1901 Census, although his father was then said to be a foreman and market gardener.
His parents moved in 1904 to run the Three Horseshoes Public House at Leverstock Green which is where they were listed on the 1911 Census when his father was a beer house and shop keeper and Victor was a scholar. They used the ground at the rear of the property to grow vegetables which they sold in their grocery store. The also let out rooms in the pub to boarders and four are listed on the 1911 Census.
He attended the village school and was a member of the boy scouts before starting work as an apprentice at the Dairy Outfit Co Ltd. The company made items such as milk churns, ladles and other dairy industry utensils. He also played in the local football team.
Wartime Service
He had tried on a number of occasions to enlist but had been refused due to poor eyesight and being underage. He finally succeeded in March 1916 and enlisted with the Bedfordshire Regiment (reg. no. 23762). He was sent to Felixstowe for basic training and was posted to the 7th (Service) Battalion when he was sent overseas, probably in April 1916.
The 7th Battalion were heavily engaged in the Battles of the Somme, including the Battle of Albert, Battle of Bazentin, including Trones Wood in July and the Battle of Thiepval in September.
Victor saw more action in 1917 during the operations on the Ancre and Miramont in February and the Capture of Irles in March. He then fought at the Battle of Arras - 3rd Battle of the Scarpe in May. They then moved to Belgium and fought in the 3rd Battle of Ypres with the Capture of Westhoek in August and the Battle of Passchendale in October. The war diary for this period recorded that "the men suffered considerably from cold & wet," and "the line held consisted of shell holes filled with water".
He was killed in action on 22 March 1918, aged 20, during the Battle of St Quentin, which consisted of four days of intense fighting resulting in many casualties. Victor has no known grave, but his name is commemorated on the Pozieres Memorial, France.
Additional Information
His father received a war gratuity of £13 and pay owing of £21 9s 2d. His mother received a pension of 5 shillings a week from 21 January 1919. His brother Edmund enlisted when he was 18 but the war ended before he was sent to fight. His brother Arthur was killed in WW2 in an accident at Brocks firework factory in Hemel Hempstead when he was a munitions worker.
Acknowledgments
Brenda Palmer
Jonty Wild, google.com/site/leverstockgreenwarmemorial, www.hemelatwar.org., www.dacorumheritage.org.uk., www.hemelheroes.com
