Notes On December 5 1912, Percy McGrath, 10, departed for Australia on board the Australind.
Percy Fairhead was born on December 26, 1902, in London, England, the son of John Fairhead and Selina McGrath. He had an older brother, William, and two younger sisters, Ellen and Rose. He arrived in Australia courtesy of the Islington Board of Guardians and must have been admitted to their care sometime between April of 1911 when the
census was taken and December of 1912 when he left England. Percy told a very sad story about the day his parents gave him and his brother, William, some pieces of bread, telling them to go out for a while. When Percy and William returned, their parents had gone and never returned. The two boys were taken to the Islington Workhouse by an unnamed individual.
He appears to have lived and worked as a farmhand in Western Australia, in and around the city of Perth. In 1943, he can be found at Newdegate, working as a farm laborer. It is here that he appears to have enlisted in the 10th Battalion Volunteer Defence Corps on 31 March 1942.
He died on December 9, 1979 and was buried in an unmarked grave in Wongan Hills, Western Australia. There is no mention in the township records of any family members.'
Source: Fairbridge Kids "Unspeakable Blessings" (Angela Sherry, 2013)