Henry Percy Harris was born in the Devon village of Combpyne in the spring of 1893. The oldest of eleven children, he was one of five sons to Eli and Amelia Harris. Eli, who was known by his middle name, Charles, and was employed as a carter on a farm. In a similar vein, Henry was known as Percy, and he also took up farm work when he completed his schooling.
When war was declared, Percy was one of the first to join up. Joining the Devonshire Regiment as a Private, he was assigned to the 1st Battalion. His service papers have been lost to time, but during the opening months of the conflict, his unit fought at Marne, Aisne and Messines, amongst other fierce battles.
One record confirms that Private Harris was wounded in the thigh on the 20th June 1915. Details are unclear, but the 1st Battalion were fighting near Ypres at the time. Percy’s wound healed, and he would soon be back in the fray.
Percy seemed to impress his superiors, and he rose to the rank of Sergeant. By the autumn of 1917, he was caught up in the fighting at Passchendaele, and was injured again. Medically evacuated to Britain for treatment, his luck was not to hold a second time. he died from his wounds on 17th November 1917, at the age of 24 years old.
The body of Henry Percy Harris was taken back to Devon for burial. He was laid to rest in the peaceful setting of St Mary’s Churchyard in his home village of Combpyne.
