Percival Thomas Edwin Rees was born into a military family in India around 1885: in the 1901 census he was recorded as speaking English, Welsh and two Indian languages. He lived in Gwaelod y Garth, near Taffs Well, and joined the Welsh Regiment on 28 December 1914. Being below the required height for the regular army (5' 4") he joined a Bantam unit, the 17th Battalion. He was promoted to sergeant and he served in France from June 1916, being awarded the Military Medal for his bravery at Bourlon Wood in November 1917 (part of the Battle of Cambrai). In 1955 he told a reporter about the incident "Our battalion was heavily outnumbered and running out of ammunition, so they gave me the medal for going back to bring us some more". This series of postcards gives details of Percy's military career in France, from August 1916, when he was at Loos, through to the end of the year. The postcards show places in northern France such as Equihen, Houchin, Bruay and Beauval.