Percy George Payne Gifford was born in Cambridge on 28th February 1885. In 1909, he married Elizabeth Emily Wheatley in Biggleswade, Bedfordshire, and, shortly afterwards, he joined the General Post Office, becoming a postman in Woodbridge. In 1911, Percy, Elizabeth and their one-year-old son, Stanley, were living on The Hill in Wickham Market.

Percy was one of the first soldiers to be sent over to France, landing there with the 108th Heavy Battery – a regular army artillery battery of four 60-pounder guns – on 17th August 1914. This fact would suggest that he was a reservist in the Royal Garrison Artillery called up at the outbreak of the war. Percy’s battery was involved in many of the major battles during the Great War, including the Battle of Mons in 1914, Battle of the Somme in 1916 and the Third Battle of Ypres, or Passchendaele in 1917.

For his war service, Percy received the 1914 Star and the British War and Victory Medals. He was also entitled to wear the Rose and Clasp on his 1914 Star to acknowledge that he had come under enemy fire between 4th August and 21st November 1914. Percy was also awarded the Belgium Croix de Guerre in April 1918.

After the war was over, Percy returned to England and resumed his role as a postman in Woodbridge. In 1944, he was awarded the Imperial Service Medal for his work with the Post Office. Percy died in 1953.