Percival Crewe Townsend (6C20)
| Date of Birth: | 1 May 1873 |
|---|---|
| Date of Death: | Oct 1936 |
| Generation: | 7th |
| Residence: | Tramore, Waterford |
| Father: | Doctor Edward Richard Townsend [6C04] |
| Mother: | Humphries, Elizabeth |
| Spouse: |
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| Issue: | |
| See Also: | Table VIC ; Lineage ; Ancestors' Tree ; Descendents' Tree |
Notes for Percival Crewe Townsend (Percy)
Percival was born in Cork.
The April 1901 Irish Census records Percival and two of his brothers living at 24 St Patrick's Hill, Cork with their mother and three domestic staff.
Married ca 1901 or 1902. Edyth Slade came from Limerick. Her father was an architect and civil engineer.
Percy was a stockbroker in Cork but the business failed in 1906 and he moved to Waterford to start afresh. In 1911 his business failed again and he sold the family home in Tramore and sent his family to live with his wife’s parents in Limerick. The April 1911 Irish Census records Percy as a stockbroker, aged 38 and married, as a boarder at 5 John's Avenue, Waterford; the home of Mrs and Mrs Noonan. Shortly after this Percy took leave of his family and went to South America but it is not known what he did there.
Shortly after the outbreak of World War I Percy gave up his work in South America and returned to England to join the Army. He obtained a commission in the 2nd Battalion of The Worcestershire Regiment (aged 40!); an entry in the London Gazette of 8 February 1918 London Gazette 30519. records a 'P.C. Townsend' having to relinquish his commission as a Lieutenant in the 13th Battalion The Worcestershire Regt on account of ill health contracted on active service during the war.
By 1920 Percy had secured employment as Secretary to the Electric Light and Power Company in Dorchester, leaving his wife in Ireland. However, according to his son Edward’s autobiography, by 1926 he was no longer supporting his wife in Ireland and even wrote to Edward asking for money. Clearly relations with him had been strained for some time as Edward was deeply upset and regarded this as “the last straw”. Percy never saw his son again until shortly before he died in 1936.