Commemorated: | |||
| 1. Memorial: | Valenciennes (St. Roch) Communal Cemetery | ||
| 2. Book: | The (1921) Masonic Roll of Honour 1914-1918 | Pg.131 | |
| 3. Memorial: | The (1940) Scroll - WW1 Roll of Honour | 1C GQS | |
Awards & Titles: | |||
Family :
Son of James Leitch Owen and Sarah Jane Owen, of 20, Merton Grove, Bootle, Liverpool, England.Service Life:
Campaigns:
- The First World War 1914-1918, World-wide.
| Unit / Ship / Est.: 42 Squadron |
| Action : Post War |
Post War includes all operations in all theatres up to 31st August 1921. This excludes the campaign in Russia against the Bolsheviks. It also includes men who succombed to wounds post war and who died from various causes whilst still in the services but post war.
The 30th Battalion embarked for Britain on 23 February 1915 and spent the summer of 1915 in training at Shorncliffe on the Kent coast. The battalion were kept in reserve, and used to provide reinforcements for the Canadian Corps in the field. In January 1917, its personnel were absorbed by the 1st Reserve Battalion, CEF.
Sidney Owen was wounded in the Third Battle of Ypres (also known as the Battle of Passchendaele) in the autumn of 1917. Following his recovery from his injuries, he rejoined his battalion at the front. In March 1918, he was transferred to the Royal Air Force as a cadet. He spent the summer of 1918 training at Reading and Winchester and on 28 September he was commissioned as an honorary lieutenant. On 23 October, he went to France and was assigned to the 42nd Squadron of the Royal Air Force.
The 42nd Squadron was engaged in flying reconnaissance sorties, using Royal Aircraft Factory R.E.8 two-seater biplanes. Known colloquially as the “Harry Tate”, after a popular music hall performer, the R.E.8 was an unreliable aircraft and, having been introduced in 1916, by 1918 it was becoming obsolete – some pilots considered it to be a “death trap”, although it could be flown safely by an experienced pilot."
Detail :
OWEN, Sydney Smith, Lieutenant, 42 Squadron RAF. He was attached to RAF from the British Columbia Regimental Depot, Canada.
On 11 December 1918, a month after the Armistice, Lieutenant Sidney Owen and his observer, a fellow Canadian, 2nd Lieutenant William Dixon Wicks (aged 29) were flying R.E.8 No B5041 from an airstrip at Aulnoye (now Aulnoy-lez-Valenciennes) in Eastern France, to transfer it to a new airfield closer to England. Shortly after take-off, the plane got into difficulties and crashed in flames, killing both pilots.
In A list of fatal accidents to British aircraft overseas 12 Nov 1918 - 1929 Sydney's post war accident is recorded:
11.12.18 R.E.8 B5041, 42 Sqn, Aulnoye
Crashed and caught fire after take-off, Aulnoye, France
Lt Sidney Smith Owen (27) killed
The two pilots were buried the following day alongside each other in St Roch Communal Cemetery in Valenciennes. A report of his death was published in the Bootle Times on 20 December 1918, accompanied by a notice from his family.
Sidney Owen is commemorated on memorials in both of his former schools and in Christ Church, Bootle and on the Bootle Civic War Memorial. He is also commemorated on the war memorial tablet set above the secretaries’ desk within the temple in the St Leonards Masonic Hall.
Masonic :
| Type | Lodge Name and No. | Province/District : |
|---|---|---|
| Mother : | Derwent No. 40 E.C. | Sussex |
Initiated | Passed | Raised |
14th May 1917 | 11th June 1917 | 9th July 1917 |
Sussex People: "On 10 April 1917, Wor. Bro. W.H. Begbie proposed Sidney as a candidate for initiation into Derwent Lodge No 40 at St Leonards near Hastings in Sussex. Wor. Bro. William Henry Begbie (1856–1937) was an agent for the Globe Express Parcel Company and had served the lodge as Worshipful Master in 1915. The proposal was seconded by the lodge treasurer, Wor. Bro. H.C. Edwards. Sidney Owen was one of seven Canadian soldiers initiated into Derwent Lodge during 1917. On 14 May, he was balloted for successfully, following which the Worshipful Master, Wor. Bro. G.F. Miller vacated the chair in favour of Wor. Bro. Begbie who initiated Sidney Owen. The charge after initiation was rendered by Wor. Bro. L.T. Weston. On that same evening, two brethren were passed to the second degree and four others were raised to the degree of a Master Mason. It must have been a long evening! Sidney Owen was passed to the second degree at an emergency lodge meeting on 11 June 1917, and raised to the third degree at another emergency meeting four weeks later. On 10 December 1917, the lodge received a letter from Bro. Owen giving his apologies and enclosing 20 shillings for the broken column."
Source :
The project globally acknowledges the following as sources of information for research across the whole database:
- The Commonwealth War Graves Commission
- The (UK) National Archives
- Ancestry.co.uk - Genealogy, Family Trees & Family History online
- ugle.org.uk - The records of the United Grand Lodge of England including the Library and Museum of Freemasonry
Additional Source:
- Founder Researchers : Paul Masters & Mike McCarthy
- Researcher : Bruce Littley