Percival Ivor McNamara – Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, H.M.S. Orion

Able Seaman Percival Ivor McNamara – Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, H.M.S. Orion

Early Life

Charles Frederic McNamara and Elizabeth Ann Francis
marriage certificate
Christ Church, Swansea

Percival Ivor McNamara was born in 1898 in Swansea, the son of Charles Frederic McNamara and Elizabeth Ann Francis, who had married in 1896 at Christ Church, Swansea. He grew up in a skilled working‑class household typical of the city’s west side.

1901 Census

The 1901 Census records the McNamara family living at 73 Lower Oxford Street, Swansea. Percival’s father, Charles, aged 26, was employed as a Painter, while his wife Elizabeth, aged 24, kept the home. Their children were Percival, aged 4, and Esther, aged 2.

1911 Census

By 1911, the family had moved to 18 Westbury Terrace, Swansea. Charles, now 34, continued to work as a House Painter, and his wife Elizabeth, also 34, remained at home. Their children, Percival, aged 13, and Esther, aged 12, were both attending school.

Naval Service

Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Service Records

According to the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Service Records, Percival enlisted in the RNVR in February 1916, joining the many young men from Swansea who volunteered for naval service during the First World War. He served as an Able Seaman, a role that placed him aboard small naval vessels engaged in hazardous patrol and escort duties around the British coastline.

Loss of Able Seaman Percival Ivor McNamara – H.M.S. Orion, 17^th November 1917

British Army and Navy Birth, Marriage and Death Records

The British Army and Navy Birth, Marriage and Death Records confirm that Percival lost his life on 17^th November 1917, following the sinking of H.M.S. Orion. Many small naval craft were lost during this period to mines, submarine activity, and severe weather, and Orion was among them. Percival was one of the young sailors whose lives were cut short in these perilous wartime operations.

Commemoration

Percival Ivor McNamara
Plymouth Naval Memorial, Plymouth
credit - findagrave

As his body was not recovered, Able Seaman Percival Ivor McNamara is commemorated on the Plymouth Naval Memorial, which honours those of the Royal Navy and Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve who have no known grave but the sea