Pte 44339 Henry John Perry

• Age: 21
• From: Merthyr Vale
• Regiment: The King's (Liverpool Regiment) 18th Btn
• D.O.W Saturday 22nd September 1917
• Commemorated at: Pond Farm Cem, Wulveringhe
  Panel Ref: C.6

Henry John Perry was born in 1896 at Merthyr Vale, Glamorgan and resided in Aberbargoed and was the son of William and Margaret Perry, of 50, Elm St, Aberbargoed, Monmouthshire.

The 1911 Census shows the family living at 50 Elm St Aberbargoed, Monmouthshire.  His father, William, is aged 41, born in Wollaston, Worcestershire in 1870 is a fitter in a coal mine, whilst his mother, Margaret, is aged 41, born 1870 in Merthyr Tydfil. They have been married for sixteen years and have had six children all of whom mare resident at the time of the Census; Henry John is aged 15, born 1896 and is a coal cleaner, Phoebe aged 12, born 1899, Theodore Ivor aged 10, born 1901 and William aged 7, born 1904 are both scholars, Violet Myra aged 4, born 1907 and Elsie Mary aged 2, born 1909. They have a stepson Gomer Jones aged 18, born 1893 an electrical motorman in the coal mining industry. 

Henry enlisted in Aberbargoed, Glamorgan and originally served as Private 36705, South Wales Borderers. Following a transfer he was serving in the 18^th Battalion, The King’s Liverpool Regiment as Private No 44339 when he died of wounds on the 22^nd September, 1917, aged 21, during the Third Battle of Ypres (Passchendaele). 

He now rests at Pond Farm Cemetery, Wulveringhe.

Wulverghem (now Wulvergem) was the scene of a German gas attack on the night of 29-30 April 1916 which was repulsed by the 3rd and 24th Divisions. The village was captured by the Germans on 14 April 1918 and reoccupied by the 30th Division on the following 2 September. 'POND FARM' was in the fields about 800 metres East of Packhorse Farm, and on the North-West side of Pond Farm is the Cemetery. The cemetery was begun by the 3rd Rifle Brigade and the 8th Buffs in July 1916 and it was used by fighting units and field ambulances until October 1917. Further burials were made in April and September 1918. There are now 296 Commonwealth servicemen of the First World War buried or commemorated in this cemetery, including special memorials to three casualties of the 1st/7th Cheshires, buried here early in September 1918, whose graves could not be found. The cemetery also contains five German war graves. The cemetery was designed by Charles Holden.

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