His story
Percival Evesson, known as Percy, was an assistant veterinary surgeon from Waverley in Sydney. He named his father at 112 Edgecliffe Road, Woollahra, as next of kin and gave his age as twenty-seven. His service began on 27 October 1914; his attestation and oath followed on 29 October. He served as no. 70 with the 1st Veterinary Section and later the 6th Mobile Veterinary Section.
Evesson served in Egypt and Palestine. His service papers record repeated hospital treatment. In January 1918, doctors at No. 14 Australian General Hospital diagnosed pulmonary tuberculosis. The medical report recorded the origin of the disability as Palestine on 19 December 1917. The medical board attributed it to “Infection while on active service”, assessed his disablement at 100 per cent at that time, and recommended discharge as permanently unfit and treatment in a sanatorium.
He embarked for Australia aboard Ulysses on 15 February 1918, arrived on 18 March, and was discharged on 3 June 1918. On 7 September 1918 he died at the Military Hospital, North Head. His family’s notice in The Sun, Sydney, on 8 September identified him as Percy Evesson, formerly of the AIF, the dearly loved son of Charles and the late Jane Evesson of Bondi Junction. A separate newspaper portrait caption also reported his death at North Head after three and a half years’ active service.
Photographs and documents
Before the war
- Nationality
- Australian
- Place of birth
- Waverley, Sydney, New South Wales
- Occupation
- Assistant veterinary surgeon (attestation); driver (1918 medical report)
- Family
- Son of Charles and the late Jane Evesson, of Bondi Junction. His father was recorded at 112 Edgecliffe Road, Woollahra, at enlistment.
Military service
- Rank recorded
- Trooper
- Service number
- 70
- Corps or service
- Australian Army Veterinary Corps
- Unit
- 1st Veterinary Section; later 6th Mobile Veterinary Section
- Service status
- Discharged on 3 June 1918 after repatriation with pulmonary tuberculosis.
Death and burial
- Date of death
- 7 September 1918
- Place of death
- Military Hospital, North Head, New South Wales
His life in dates
- 27–29 October 1914Service began; attestation and oath completed.
- 9–10 January 1918His medical treatmentMedical report and board recorded pulmonary tuberculosis and service-attributable disability.
- 15 February 1918Embarked for Australia aboard Ulysses.
- 18 March 1918Arrived in Australia.
- 3 June 1918Discharged from the Army.
- 7 September 1918His medical treatmentDied at the Military Hospital, North Head.
Selected dated events from the evidence identified below.
Where he worked
- 6th Australian Mobile Veterinary Section
His service papers name the 1st Veterinary Section and later the 6th Mobile Veterinary Section; exact full posting dates remain incomplete.
A recorded posting supplies context for his service. Exact duties and presence during a particular incident require their own evidence.
Connected men
- John James MCDONALDAlso recorded with 6th Australian Mobile Veterinary Section
Sources and further reading
- UNSW AIF Project — Percival Evesson, no. 70
- The Sun (Sydney), 8 September 1918, page 8 — death notice (supplied clipping)
- Publication details accompanying the supplied death notice. — reproduced document
- Medical report, 9 January 1918: pulmonary tuberculosis attributed to wartime service. — reproduced document
- Statement of service recording repatriation and discharge on 3 June 1918. — reproduced document
- CWGC war dead search
Cite this biography
Graham Hodgkins and Pete Matthews, “Percival Evesson”, Veterinary Virtual War Memorial, https://vetsremembered.org/people/percival_evesson/.
Contribute information
Can you identify the newspaper issue containing Percy's original portrait, or supply a family photograph? The original clipping is shown above.