This week we completed the full restoration of the grave of Percy Roberts Havercroft GC at Beighton Sheffield. Percy was originally awarded the Edward medal but chose to exchange it for the George Cross which was not available in 1915. You might expect us to only complete military restorations however, we also consider non-military if there is a link to the military and what better link could you have than serving in the coal mines supporting the war effort in 1915. Also you might want to consider the story of William Hackett VC also a miner who worked at Wath colliery not too far from Percy. He earned his VC saving the lives of colleagues trapped in a tunnel under Givenchy named Shaftesbury Avenue when the Germans detonated a mine explosion. Sadly Bill Hackett VC died but his actions to save colleagues meritted the award of the VC in the same way as Percy's actions earned the Edward Medal (later George Cross. The only difference was Bill was in the face of the enemy thus making the VC the relevant award.
Percy's grave had fallen into complete disrepair with the headstone laid down and kerbsets scattered due to some subsidence. The VCT team firstly gained permissions from Sheffield Bereavement Services to complete the full rebuild of the grave base, kerbsets and headstone with the regilding of the lettering also included. The grave site was initially stabilised and a fresh concrete base set to receive the grave itself. The headstone was taken away for gilding before being reset on 2nd September restoring the memorial to its original condition. Thanks go to Mark Green at VCOnline for bringing the condiction of the grave to our attention.
More information on Percy Havercroft GC can be found below.
born on 24/05/1883 Beighton, then Derbyshire and died on 15/07/1976 Sheffield, Yorkshire.
DATE AND PLACE OF GC INCIDENT: 27/08/1915 Sheffield, Yorkshire.
Percy Roberts Havercroft (1883-1976) was born on the 24th May 1883 in Beighton, Derbyshire, the eldest child of George and Ada Mary Havercroft (nee Roberts). He had two younger siblings – Emily Anne and Archibald. George Havercroft worked for the railways as a clerk. Little is known of Percy’s schooling, but by 1901, he was working as a canvasser for a grocer and was living still in Beighton. On 27th July 1908 at St Mary’s Beighton, he married Florence Eileen Beck, and by 1911, he had begun a career in the mines (which would last 51 years) as a colliery carpenter at Waleswood Colliery, Sheffield.
Percy R Havercroft GC
On 27th August 1915, at Waleswood Colliery, a descending cage containing 10 men collided with an empty ascending cage. The impact was extremely violent, severely injuring all the men and breaking the winding ropes. The cages were, however, wedged together in the shaft so that neither of them fell to the bottom, though there was serious danger that they might do so at any moment. A hoppit manned by Havercroft, Albert Tomlinson and John Walker was at once sent down to effect the rescue of the trapped men. All the men were carried from the damaged cage along a girder to the hoppit, which made five descents altogether, the rescue taking two hours. During the whole of this time Havercroft, Tomlinson and Walker were exposed to great danger, either from the hoppit being upset by the winding ropes swinging in the shaft, or from the damaged cage breaking loose and falling down the shaft. Meanwhile, Edward Wingfield, one of the occupants of the descending cage, who had both legs fractured and had received a severe wound to his thigh and a wound to the head, seized hold of another man who had fallen half way through the bottom of the cage, and held on to him until he was rescued. During the whole time he displayed the greatest coolness and bravery, despite his own severe injuries.
Havercroft, Tomlinson, Walker and Wingfield were all awarded the Edward Medal for their actions. Percy continued to work at the pit, and in 1933, his wife Florence passed away. In 1936, he married Sarah Metcalfe and it is believed they had no children. He retired from the mines in the 1950s. In 1971, he decided to exchange his Edward Medal for the George Cross following a change in the Royal Warrant. Sadly, Tomlinson, Walker and Wingfield had all passed away and were unable to exchange. Percy died on 15th July 1976 in Sheffield and was buried with his first wife in Beighton Cemetery, Sheffield. His medals are not publicly held.
