Middlesex Regiment soldier laid to rest on the Somme

Image: Private Tolliday'S Coffin Is Carried To The Graveside By Serving Soldiers Of 1St Battalion The Royal Regiment Of Fusiliers

Private Percy Tolliday of 11th Battalion The Middlesex Regiment, was laid to rest on the Somme on 21 October 2026 alongside two unknown comrades, at a burial service organised by MOD’s Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre (JCCC) at the CWGC Warlencourt British Cemetery, France.

Richard Tolliday, the great nephew of Pte Tolliday, had travelled from the USA to attend the burial service with his wife and nephew. It was Richard who had provided the DNA sample that made identification of Pte Tolliday possible.

Richard Tolliday, great nephew of Pte Tolliday said: "We are deeply grateful to the JCCC for their extraordinary dedication, expertise, and professionalism that enabled the identification of the remains of our Great Uncle, Pte Percy Tolliday, 110 years after his death in the Battle of the Somme. In 1916, Percy was a soldier but also a son and a brother. It has been an honour to be able to assist in this process and to attend his burial service that so movingly and impressively brings an appropriate recognition and closure for Percy and his family, past and present.”

Image: The Rev Fiona Beale CF Conducts The Burial Service

Pte Tolliday and the two unknown soldiers were uncovered during the installation of wind turbines near Gueudecourt. They were found lying in a shell hole, suggesting that they may have died together, possibly having been hit by the same shell. Work continues in an attempt to identify the unknown soldiers.

JCCC Caseworker, Rosie Barron said: "It has been a privilege to have played a part in the identification and burial of Pte Percy Tolliday and to have provided answers for his family. He and these two unknown soldiers were killed in the most awful conditions in heavy rain, deep mud and under continuous shelling. The worst extremity of First World War conditions. JCCC will continue to do all it can to work to identify Pte Tolliday’s comrades and hopefully bring further closure to another family."

Richard Tolliday Stands At The Graveside With His Wife, Nephew And The Military Party

The service was supported by serving soldiers from The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, The Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment and The Regimental Band and Corps of Drums of The Royal Welsh. The service was conducted by the Reverend Fiona Beale CF, Chaplain to 1st Battalion The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers.

Reverend Fiona Beale CF said: “Being the Padre to 1st Battalion The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, I find it a deeply moving and humbling privilege to conduct the burial service for Pte Percy Tolliday and two unknown soldiers, presumed to also be of The Middlesex Regiment. It is a sacred duty and profound honour to lay to rest these World War One heroes who endured the unimaginable horrors of the trenches.”

Their graves will now be cared for by the CWGC in perpetuity.

Dr Daniel Seaton, CWGC Commemorations Case Officer said: “The three casualties now laid to rest were recovered by the Commission’s specialist Recovery Unit, not far away from where today’s ceremony has taken place. I am delighted that, following research conducted by ourselves and the JCCC, Private Tolliday has been identified, and remain hopeful that it may also be possible to identify the two Unknown Soldiers in the future. All three are now remembered with honour in the Commission’s Warlencourt British Cemetery”

Private Percy Tolliday

Percy Tolliday was born in Camberwell, London, on 10 March 1884. He was one of ten children born to Alfred Tolliday and his wife Elizabeth. He worked as a salesman before enlisting into the Army on 19 August 1914.

He was posted to 11th Battalion The Middlesex Regiment on 21 August 1914. Private Tolliday embarked for the Western Front on 30 May 1915 with the battalion and took part in the Battle of Loos later that year. He was wounded on 4 March 1916 whilst in action near the Hohenzollern Redoubt but returned to the battalion on 26 March 1916. 11th Battalion The Middlesex Regiment was in reserve for the British and French attack on the Somme on 1 July 1916, but came into action that night.

On 3 October 1916, 11th Battalion The Middlesex Regiment relieved 9th Battalion The Royal Fusiliers in the frontline and took up positions northeast of Gueudecourt around Gird Trench and Gird Support Trench. There was heavy shelling day and night as they worked to join up the frontline trenches.

On 4 October 1916, there was again heavy shelling all day and night. 10 other ranks were killed and 24 wounded. Private Tolliday was among those who lost their lives, he was 32 years old. As he was recorded as missing, he was commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial.

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