Percy Cooper

Bank: London County & Westminster Bank

Place of work: Chatham branch

Died: 19 June 1916

Percy Whitfield Cooper was born in Herne Bay in 1899, the son of William Sidney Cooper, a landscape painter, and his wife Kate. In April 1915, when he was 16 years old, he went to work for London County & Westminster Bank.

In December 1915 Cooper left his job as a clerk at the bank's Chatham branch to join the army, serving as a Private in The Queen's Own (Royal West Kent Regiment). Although his military records say he was 19 when he joined up, other sources, including bank records, indicate that he was actually 16.

Private Cooper was killed in action in Belgium on 19 June 1916.

Percy Cooper is commemorated on a bank war memorial at NatWest Chatham branch.