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Auction: 25113 - Orders, Decorations and Medals - e-Auction
Lot: 181

The Great War Bronze Memorial Plaque awarded to Lieutenant P. M. Chadwick, East Anglian Divisional Engineers, Royal Engineers, who was killed in action on 22 September 1918, a skilled engineer and recipient of the James Forrest Medal, Miller Prize and Birmingham Society of Engineers Silver Medal, who was further presented with the Freedom of the City of London before his death

Great War Bronze Memorial Plaque (Percival Miller Chadwick), sold together with an identity tag named 'P. M. Chadwick', good very fine

Percival Miller Chadwick was born at Rushton Road, Thornbury, Bradford, Yorkshire on 16 June 1888, the son of Ellis and Esther Chadwick of, St. Motz, Parkstone, Dorset. His father worked for the Board of Education and Chadwick appears to have been brought up in Yorkshire before being moved to London where his father had gained work as an inspector.

Educated at the City of London School, he earned the Sasson Scholarship and the Sir William Tite Scholarship, before going on to study engineering at the University of London. Graduating B.Sc. Chadwick was appointed assistant to the chief engineer at Southampton Docks, a role he held until joining the City and Guilds Technical College, where Finsbury as a lecturer. He joined the University of Birmingham in the same role in 1911 and while there earned the James Forrest Medal, Miller Prize and Birmingham Society of Engineers Silver Medal for his work along with an M.Sc.

The outbreak of war saw him commissioned 2nd Lieutenant with the Birmingham University O.T.C. on 27 October 1914. As the war grew in scale young men like Chadwick could not be kept away from active service and he was transferred to the 2nd Field Company, East Anglian Divisional Engineers with the rank of Lieutenant on 26 April 1915.

Entering the war with the Egyptian Expeditionary Force on 4 December 1915, he served at Gallipoli in his time in the Mediterranean but was transferred back to Egypt when the peninsula was evacuated. He was serving there when he was appointed as Freeman of the City of London in April 1916, following that up by joining the Institute of Civil Engineers on 24 July 1916.

Posted to the West Riding Field Company in February 1917 he served with them on the Western Front for the rest of his life. He is noted in a newspaper obituary as having been thrice wounded during his service however his luck ran out when he was killed in action by shellfire on 22 September 1918.

His obituary in the Enfield Gazette quotes his commanding officer, stating:

'I can well imagine how much you feel the loss of your son, for the news has cast quite a gloom over the Company, with whom he was a general favourite. During the time he was serving under my command. by his cheerfulness and keen desire to do all he could for the men he endeared himself to them all, especially his own section. For myself, I cannot speak too highly of the help he gave me. During the offensive in Flanders the Company remained in the battle area the whole time, and the strain on both officers and men was terrified; yet through it all your son gave me most valuable assistance.'

Chadwick was buried at Trefcon British Cemetery, Caulaincourt; sold together with copied research.

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Estimate

Starting price
£40