Percy Adams was born at Woodbridge, Suffolk on 16 Mar 1883, the son of William and Harriet Adams.  He joined the Royal Navy on 20 June 1904 and joined HMS DOLPHIN for submarine training on 1 March 1913, having married Constance Cocker in December 1909.  He was drafted to the depot ship HMS BONAVENTURE at Queenstown on 19 July 1913.  He was promoted to Leading Stoker on 1 April 1915 and drafted to the submarine depot ship HMS MAIDSTONE at Harwich for HMS E2. He served in the depot ship HMS ADAMANT and HMS E2 in the Mediterranean taking part in patrols in the Dardanelles and the Sea of Marmara.

After leaving E2 in March 1916, he joined HMS DOLPHIN for for HMS K4 on commissioning on 1 January 1917.  He was promoted to Stoker Petty Officer on 19 June 1917 and was was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal “for distinguished service in submarines in enemy waters” on 2 November of that year.

He was lost in the sinking of HMS K4 in collision with HMS K6 during the ‘Battle of May Island’ fiasco on 31 January 1918. He is commemorated on the Chatham Naval Memorial.