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Percy as a Military Man.
When the First World War broke out, Percy was in Montreal, working as an architect. As a small boy in Russia, he had been fascinated by the bayonet exercise of the St. Petersburg garrison. This experience was probably what inspired him to take on other fighting sports (boxing and fencing). During wartime, Percy served as a bayonet instructor (he himself never fought overseas because of his impaired vision, the result of an accident some years earlier). After the war, on a crowded train, Percy was offered a seat by a Canadian soldier. At first he refused, but the soldier insisted. Corporal Konowal, the soldier, had been awarded the Victoria Cross earlier in the day. On the train, he told Percy that without his training, he would have never have received such an honour. (Greenwood Collection)
When the First World War broke out, Percy was in Montreal, working as an architect. As a small boy in Russia, he had been fascinated by the bayonet exercise of the St. Petersburg garrison. This experience was probably what inspired him to take on other fighting sports (boxing and fencing). During wartime, Percy served as a bayonet instructor (he himself never fought overseas because of his impaired vision, the result of an accident some years earlier). After the war, on a crowded train, Percy was offered a seat by a Canadian soldier. At first he refused, but the soldier insisted. Corporal Konowal, the soldier, had been awarded the Victoria Cross earlier in the day. On the train, he told Percy that without his training, he would have never have received such an honour. (Greenwood Collection)