Percy Gurney was born in Luton in January 1893. He was 1 of 8 children born to Tom & Emily.
In 1911 Percy is 17 & living at 48 Hartley Road with his family that are all working from home in the hat trade. His father Tom is 42 & a self employed straw hat manufacturer, his mother Emily, 40 & 19 year old sister Emily Rosa, are both straw hat finishers & younger brother, 16 year old Frederick George, is a straw hat machinist. His 12 year old sister Lizzie is at school.
In 1911 Sydney is 29 years old & living with his family at 52 Ash Road & working as a straw hat packer with A. Hucklesby & Co, by whom he had been employed from the age of 17. Lizzie is 28 & working as a straw hat machinist at home whilst looking after their children, 6 year old Doris & 4 year old Sidney Charles. Lizzie's 73 year old widowed father George Gregory is also living with them in this 4 roomed house.
Arthur Wileman was a professional footballer at Luton Town FC when he enlisted in the Footballers' Battalion of the Middlesex Regiment at Kingsway on 16th December 1914 with his Luton team mates Simms, Frith, Roe, Dunn and Wilson.
In doing so he was following the example set by his team mates Roberts and Lindley who had signed up the day before. Wileman was the top-scorer in the promotion winning team of 1913-14 and continued to play for Luton in the 1914-15 season whilst training with his battalion.
