 |
Quorn WW1 Roll of Honour - Percy Facer
Died 9th April 1918, aged 18
Loos, France
A well-known family in Quorn
Facer was a very well-known name in Quorn in the 20th century. Percy Facer’s grandparents first came to the village in the late 1860s, when Henry Facer, a carpenter born in Leicester, and his young wife Ann, settled with their baby son in a small cottage on Leicester Road, near the Gas Works, (now The Brinks). They went on to have at least six children, and most of the boys followed in their father’s footsteps and became successful joiners.
Percy’s early years
Percy’s father, Harry, married Lucy Ellen Rue on 4th September 1894, in St Bartholomew’s Church. The Rues were also an established Quorn family. Harry started a successful joinery and timber business on Meeting Street, where Sanders Road is today and the family became relative well off. The family lived at 65 Loughborough Road (see photograph below), and had three children; Lucy, Harry and Percy, who was the youngest.
All three children went to Rawlins Grammar School and later played their part in the war. Harry was a Sapper in the Royal Engineers, and Lucy, the eldest, joined the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps and served in France. Percy lied about his age, and when he was only 15 he joined the Leicestershire Regiment without the consent of his parents. He was later transferred to the Seaforth Highlanders.
More about Percy’s sister Lucy can be found at Artefact 1119 and more about his brother Harry and the wider family at Artefact 2265.
Killed in action
Quorn Parish Magazine, in June 1918, stated that Percy had been reported missing after a push around Neuve Chapelle in France. It was an anguished wait for the family until April 1919, when Percy’s death was finally confirmed.
Percy’s short life is commemorated on the Loos Memorial in France, Quorn War Memorial and the Rawlins Rolls of Honour. Photographs of the two Rawlins Rolls of Honour can be seen at Artefact 2261 and Artefact 2262. After Harry died in 1952, Lucy commissioned a bench in memory of her parents and her brothers. This can still be seen in the porch of St Bartholomew’s Church today (see Artefact 2264).
A surprising find
Many years later, when a couple called Margaret and David Latimer bought 65 Loughborough Road, they were surprised to find an old carrier bag in the attic. Despite the house having had a few owners since the Facers, the bag contained various Facer family photographs and documents. One of these items was the framed commemorative scroll that had accompanied the WW1 memorial plaque, which would have been sent to Percy’s parents after his death.
Below:
1) 65 Loughborough Road in around 1909. Lucy, Harry and Percy would have been about 13, 12 and 9 years old. It is almost certain that Percy is the child standing between the two youngest ones.
2) A enlargement of the face that is believed to be Percy’s.
3) A photograph of the commemorative scroll that was found in the attic.
| |
|
|
 |
Missing information: |
Can anyone provide a photograph of Percy Facer as a young man?
Please email us at:
team2024@quornmuseum.com |
 |
Submitted on: |
2020-01-13 |
|
Submitted by: |
Sue Templeman with many thanks to David and Margaret Latimer |
|
Artefact ID: |
2319 |
|
Artefact URL: |
www.quornmuseum.com/display.php?id=2319 |
|
|
|
