operation 'legacy'

  The Friends Of The Suffolk Regiment
  • Introduction
  • History
    • Our Regimental 'Family'
  • Publications
  • Archives
    • Operation 'Legacy'
    • Friends News Archives
    • Battlefield Tours
  • Join Us
  • Friends News
  • Contact

The Man Who Grew Lemons

6/12/2017

 
Picture
The losses of the counterattack on the 30th caused many men of 7th Suffolk to become prisoners of war.
One man, Percy Watts of ‘A’ Company, was shot through the chest and subsequently captured. However, the boredom of his captivity, sparked an interest in cookery that was to land him an important job in the post-war years.
Percy enlisted into the 3rd Battalion at Felixstowe in May 1915 and was soon transferred to the 7th Battalion who were heading off to France. Upon his release from captivity in 1918, he decided to re-enlist and joined 2nd Suffolk at Colchester, shortly before they were to be posted to Ireland. By 1921, he was promoted Lance Corporal and remained with the Battalion as it went to Shanghai in 1927.
In the time in between, he had entered numerous Army cooking competitions and was part of a team from the Battalion that came third in the 'Army Cookery Shield' in 1925. In 1928, he left the Army having been demobbed at the Depot at Bury St. Edmunds. He was discharged on medical grounds as a result of the wound he suffered at Lateau Wood.
Almost immediately though, he became the Officers Mess Steward, a civilian role but one that kept him with his Regiment. For 35 years until the Depot was closed in 1963, Percy was the “Mess Superintendent” and along with his wife whom he married in 1929, the pair cooked, cleaned and ran the Officers Mess until it closed.
Percy was a man of remarkable memory like the doorman of a London club. He knew virtually every officer and his wife by sight and even when retired officers visited, he could remember virtually every one of them. When the Second World War came and the supply of lemons became difficult (Gin and Tonic appears to have been a popular tipple in the Mess), Percy grew from seeds, a lemon tree on the Mess kitchen windowsill.
Later, when it was strong enough, the sapling was transferred to the Depot Greenhouse behind the Officers Mess, which was tendered to by German Prisoners of War. Percy had great affinity with them having been a prisoner himself, and often made them up sandwiches from the leftovers to take back to their camp when their work at the Depot ended each day.
Percy retired and was later awarded the Imperial Service Medal for his long and honourable service to the Suffolk Regiment. 


Comments are closed.
    Picture
    Welcome to our online 'chronicle' that charted the history of the many battalions of the Suffolk Regiment throughout their service during the Great War.
    This record is now closed, but we have retained all our original posts here for you to search through and in the fullness of time, we hope to add to it as and where new stories come to light.
    It was at times, a challenging but rewarding endeavour which has helped many people in their research of the Regiment.
    If you know the specific month of an action of the Regiment, you can search for it in the list below:


    Archives

    February 2025
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Introduction
  • History
    • Our Regimental 'Family'
  • Publications
  • Archives
    • Operation 'Legacy'
    • Friends News Archives
    • Battlefield Tours
  • Join Us
  • Friends News
  • Contact