Major Percival Thomas Priestley MB, MRCS

Transcription

1 Major Percival Thomas Priestley MB, MRCS Figure 1: Joseph Priestley Percival is the great-great-great nephew of Joseph Priestley, who was born in 1833 at Birstall, Yorkshire. i Joseph is best known for discovering oxygen but he also identified carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and six other gases. He was also a philosopher, theologian and clergyman who wrote more than one hundred and fifty publications. Joseph strongly believed in the free and open exchange of ideas and was an advocate of tolerance and equal rights for religious dissenters which led him to found the Unitarian Church in Britain. As a supporter of both the American and French Revolutions, Joseph freely expressed his views, often from the pulpit. Some of these views were considered to be seditious by the British establishment and many citizens. Anger at the supporters of the French Revolution holding a Bastille Day dinner at the Royal Hotel in Birmingham on July resulted in a mob attacking the chapels and homes of dissenters in a four-day frenzy often referred to as the Priestley Riots. The rioters began at the Royal Hotel, then Priestley's church and home. Joseph was forewarned and made his escape, stopping overnight at the home of Thomas Hawkes on Moseley-Green. Another chronicler refers to Thomas Wake Green house being on the Wake Green Road between St Agnes Road and Billesley Lane. Joseph s stay here was short-lived as this house too was wrecked. ii Figure 2: The attack on Joseph Priestley's home, Fairhill, at Sparkbrook, Bimingham on 14 July 1791

2 Figure 3: Moseley Hall at the time of the riots in 1791 On 16 th July, the rioters arrived at Moseley Hall the second home of John Taylor, one of the founders of Lloyds Bank. They carefully moved all of the furniture and belongings of its occupant, the frail Dowager Lady Carhampton (a relative of George III) out of the house before they burned it. The mob also attacked the homes of people they associated with Dissenters, such as members of the scientific Lunar Society. All in all, four Dissenting churches were severely damaged or burned down, twenty-seven homes and several businesses were attacked, many looted and burned. iii The national government was slow to respond to the Dissenters' pleas for help and local Birmingham officials were later reluctant to prosecute any of the ringleaders. Figure 4: A cartoon by James Gilray, who opposed the riots. Less than a week after the riots, the etching mocks Joseph Priestley giving a Birmingham toast, as given on 14 th July 1791, with a full goblet offering an empty communion plate and calling for a head, implied to be the King s among other well-known Liberals, with the grim faces of the Dissenters holding court in a parody of the iconic Last Supper

3 Percival s grandfather, a wool merchant also called Joseph Priestley, was a great nephew of the famous scientist. He resided at Morley Hall, Birstall, Yorkshire about seven miles SW of Leeds. He was married twice. His first marriage was to Mary Overend. Joseph had three children with Mary: William Overend Priestley, John and Joseph born in 1829, 1831 and 1835 respectively. iv Mary died on 12 th October 1835 after an illness of a few days following the birth of Joseph on 4 th October She was only thirty-two years old. v Figure 5: The baptismal record of Joseph, Mary and Joseph s last born son. He was not baptised until 27th May 1841 Figure 6 Percival s uncle, Sir William Overend Priestley and part of his obituary On 16 th May 1843, Joseph remarried. His second wife was Ann, daughter of George Tomlinson, a farmer, in the hamlet of Cowlam in the Yorkshire Wolds. Joseph and Ann set up home at 26 Portland Crescent, Leeds. By 1849, Joseph had relinquished his cloth manufacturing business in favour of the gas industry

4 which was then lighting numerous towns and cities throughout Britain. He was elected to the office of collector for the New Gas Company. vi Figure 7: The appointment of Joseph as the manager of the New Gas Company The 1851 census recorded that Joseph and Ann had three children living with them, William, a medical student (Joseph s son by his first wife) together with Thomas and Benjamin Wood Priestley vii born in 1845 and 1850 respectively. Sadly Benjamin died the following year, By 1861, Joseph had relinquished his position at the New Gas Company and continued in business as a hardware merchant and cloth manufacturer until his retirement. Two further children Charles Arthur and Anne Jane were born in 1851 and 1857 respectively. viii Thomas Priestley, Joseph s eldest son by Ann, went to Leeds Grammar School, after which he took up Holy Orders. In 1868 Thomas became a curate, firstly in Bethnal Green and then in Spitalfields, before he was appointed the Vicar of St Peter s Church, Hoxton Square, Shoreditch, East London in July St Peter s church was founded in 1869 but closed in Figure 8: Former Leeds Grammar School with its chapel on the left On 3 rd September 1885, Thomas was married to Emmeline Amelia, the youngest daughter of the late Thomas Brown Esq, MRCS of 16 Finsbury Circus, at St Saviour s Church, Denmark Park, Southwark, London by Rev H. L. Brown, MA curate of Holy Trinity, Hoxton, brother of the bride, assisted by Rev H. S. Swithinbank BA of St Peter s Church, Hoxton Square.. ix

5 On 1 st February 1888, Emmeline gave birth to a son, Percival Thomas. x In 1894, after sixteen years in London, Thomas was given a new living as the vicar of St Mary Magdalene church, Albrighton, about seven miles northwest of Wolverhampton. It was quite a transition from the East End of London to the relative tranquillity of a quiet rural parish. In addition he was following on from a great old man, the Reverend George Woodhouse, who had been the vicar of the parish for fifty-eight years. xi Thomas only child, Percival, attended St Michael s College in April 1899, an independent boarding school in Tenbury, Worcestershire. He left at Christmas 1902 for Shrewsbury School, where he completed his education in xii The following year on 4 th October 1907, Percival entered Birmingham University as a medical student. During his time at university Percival joined the Officer Training Corps (OTC) enlisting in 1909 for three years. Leaving as a Sergeant, Percival became the Medical Officer of the senior OTC. He received the Richards Memorial Prize in 1911 and the Gold Medal for clinical midwifery before he graduated with a 1 st Class degree in xiii Over the next year, Percival held resident appointments at the Birmingham General Hospital as a house physician and surgeon. On 3 rd July 1914 Percival enlisted on a three-and-a-half month course of instruction at the Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) in Aldershot having received a commission as a Lieutenant (temporary) in the Special Reserve. The new Dean of the Medical Faculty, Peter Thompson, described Percival as a gentleman of excellent character and conduct and has good ability in his reference for him to the War Office. xiv Figure 9 Percival Priestley Percival was gazetted a full Lieutenant on 31 st July 1914, Two weeks later he was posted to France. xv After a period of sick leave at home he had the charge of Lady Tennyson s Hospital at Afton Lodge, Freshwater. xvi During this time at home he took the opportunity to marry Ellen, daughter of Charles Underhill, from Burton-on- Trent at St Mary s Church, Moseley, Birmingham, on 14 th January xvii Shortly after, he was sent to the Near East where he served at Anzac on the Gallipoli Peninsula until the evacuation of the Allied Forces in December 1916 to

6 Imbros, an island off the coast of Turkey, and then on to Alexandra, Egypt after which he returned to England. xviii Percival set sail from Southampton on 29 th June 1917, en route to Salonika via Taranto in Italy, arriving on 15 th July. During his time there he was appointed a temporary Major. Fourteen months later, Percival caught influenza and was taken to No 25 Casualty Clearing Station for treatment on 23 rd September He had been running a temperature from F for several days before admission. Despite taking nourishment and stimulants well, his condition deteriorated and at 0330 on 28 th September he died of pneumonia. xix Figure 10: Percival s headstone at (Lembet Road) Military Cemetery, Salonika Figure 11: WW1 memorial at St Michael s Church, Tenbury, Percival was buried at Salonika (Lembet Road) Military Cemetery, Salonika Percival is also commemorated on the WW1 memorial Birmingham University, St Michael s Church, Tenbury, St Mary Magdalene church, Albrighton and St Mary s Church, Moseley and is named on the Roll of Honour at Shrewsbury School and Birmingham s Hall of memory.

7 Figure 12 (Top left) WW1memorial at St Mary Magdalene church, Albrighton (Top right) WW1 memorial at Shrewsbury College (Bottom Left) WW1 memorial at St Mary s Church, Moseley (MIddle right) Lynchgate at Albrighton: Erected following the 1936 bequest of the late Emmeline A Priestley to the revered memory of her late husband Thomas Priestley M.A. (vicar of this parish from ) and their son Major Percival T Priestley of the RAMC who died in (Bottom right) Birmingham University WW1 memorial Percival s wife, Ellen, lived at Woodlands, 53 Anderton Park Road, Moseley. She was left s 8d in her husband s estate, about 68,206 in today s money. She moved to Kottingham House, Burton-on-Trent after his death. She never remarried and in the 1939 Register she is recorded as a retired hospital sister at 5 Carlton House, Shifnal, Shropshire. Written and researched by Edwina Rees, Moseley Society History Group

8 Permission to copy subject to acknowledgement The Moseley Society History Group carries out its own research and publishes the results on its website and in booklets, posters and written reports. It also responds to individual enquiries as far as it is able. The History Group grants permission to quote from any of its published research material and any responses to individual enquiries for non-commercial and educational purposes, but only on condition that the History Group is acknowledged as the source of the information used, together with the author where specified, and on the understanding that the History Group cannot guarantee or accept liability for the accuracy of its material. Use for commercial purposes is not permitted unless terms have previously been agreed with the History Group. Endnotes i ii iii iv v vi vii See ii The Priestley Riots census England Births & Baptisms census viii ix x xi National Archives, Officers After 1913, Ref WO 339/8824, gives actual date of birth England Select Births and Christenings, , records Christening date as 26 th February 1888 xii National Archives, Officers After 1913, Ref WO 339/8824 Old Salopians killed in action

9 Remember the Fallen xiii National Archives, Officers After 1913, Ref WO 339/8824 xiv National Archives, Officers After 1913, Ref WO 339/8824. As an undergraduate, Percival served under the Dean, Mr Gilbert Barling. At the outbreak of the First World War, at the age of 59, he placed his services at the disposal of the Royal Army Medical Corps, acting as consulting surgeon in the Southern Command. He was subsequently posted at the rank of Colonel to the Western Front from October 1916 to August On 10 September 1919, King George Y conferred upon him a Baronetcy. He was for many years Chairman of Birmingham Civic Trust and Birmingham Hospital Fund and was involved in setting up what is now Cancer Research UK ( (The London Gazette. 7 October p ) London Gazette, 3 rd October 1911 xv London Gazette,28 th August 1914, Issue No 28878, p 6677 xvi National Archives, Officers After 1913, Ref WO 339/8824 xvii xviii National Archives, Officers After 1913, Ref WO 339/8824 xix National Archives, Officers After 1913, Ref WO 339/8824 Common Wealth War Graves Commission Illustrations Figure 1 Thorpe, T. E., FRS Joseph Priestley. London. J M Kemp & Co accessed Figure 2 The attack on Priestley s home, Figure 3 Figure4 Figure 5 Moseley Hall during the riots, Moseley Society History Group archives Moseley- Hall-leaflet.pdf Science History Institute. Photograph by Will Brown. The Institute Collections.

10 Figure 6 Figure 7 Figure 8 Figure 9 Former Leeds Grammar School. Photograph by Jaqueline Banerjee. The Victorian Society Figure 10 Figure 11 and Figure 12 for St Mary Magdalene Church, Albrighton WW1 memorial. Lynchgate, St Mary Magdalene Church, Albrighton, the photo is copyrighted but also licensed for further reuse with conditions cc-by-sa/2.0 - Jaggery - geograph.org.uk/p/ Shrewesbury School WW1/2 memorial. Imperial War Museum Birmingham University WW1 memorial in the Aston Webb building. Name taken from a photograph taken by Edwina Rees