Early Life :

Service Life:

Campaigns:

• The First World War 1914-1918, World-wide.

17 October - 11 November 1918. The final stage of the British advance saw them cross the Selle and the Sambre rivers as the relentless pressure was kept on the retreating Germans. By the 11th November 1918 the British army had returned to Mons, where it all started for them back in August 1914 when it made its first contact with the Germans, and where the war stopped when the Armistice was declared on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month.

Detail :

On 7th November, 1914, shortly after the outbreak of war Sidney attested into the 20 (Service) Battalion King’s Liverpool Regiment (4 Liverpool Pals) as Private 22846. This was one of four battalions formed in Liverpool by Lord Derby, and his crest was used as the cap badge. All of the original volunteers were presented with their badge of silver, pictured right. He is described as being a clerk age 25 years and 235 days, Church of England, 5’8’’ with grey eyes and light brown hair and having an appendix scar, plus a mole on the front of his upper left arm. He also states that he had previous military service in the Territorial Force with the 5 Battalion, which was based in the Everton area and of the same Regiment,. Obviously this experience helped him tremendously and he was promoted to Lance Corporal on 8 December, Corporal 9 February 1915, and as Sergeant on 12 March 1915. The following day, 13 March 1915, and describing himself as a 26 year old Advertising Clerk residing at 1 Larkhill Lane, Sidney married Alice Hulme at St James Church, West Derby, Liverpool. Alice is aged 24 years and the daughter of John Hulme, a gardener of 633 West Derby Road.

On the masonic 1915 Provincial Return sheet Sidney is given as residing at 1 Larkhill Lane, Clubmoor, Liverpool, and army records show him arriving in France on 7 November 1915. The 20 Battalion had left their base at Larkhill ( coincidently the name of Sidney’s home address back in Liverpool) on the 6 November and then sailed from Folkestone for Boulogne. In early December the 18 Battalion was told it would be transferred out of 89 Brigade, which eventually took place on Christmas Day. Before this however the battalion was attached to various units for ‘front-line experience’ and a Lance Corporal Rezin 24620 became the first death in action from the Liverpool Pals on 20 December 1915.

While serving with the 20 Battalion he was sent to 140 Field Ambulance having been wounded in action and suffering shock after being buried during a heavy German bombardment on 14 October 1916 while attacking Transloy Ridge. It would be on 10 March 1917 Sidney was sent to 98 Field Ambulance suffering from measles, being forwarded onto 12 Stationary Hospital on the 17 and diagnosed with German measles, probably making him the recipient of many a smart quip from his men, until his discharge back to his battalion on 27 March.

Sidney while serving with No 3 Company of 20 Battalion was severely reprimanded on two counts for his behaviour on the night of 18 December 1917. The first was for not informing his platoon of his whereabouts, and secondly, for sleeping in an unauthorised place, sadly no other details are available today.

On 7 February 1918 Sidney is posted to the 18 Battalion King’s Liverpool Regiment, and later from there is attached to 89 Infantry Brigade School and returning to service with A Company of the battalion on 4 June.

Unfortunately, Sidney died in the last few week’s of the war, in the final advance west of Le Cateau. On the 17th October, 1918, his battalion moved back up to Ruemont, and the following morning they moved onto the western bank of the River Selle, after which much confused fighting happened around the bridge’s spanning the river. It was probably at one of the bridges that Sidney lost his life, killed in action, age 29 years, on 18th October, 1918.

Sidneys death was reported in the local Liverpool papers on 28 October 1918 under the headline of “POST” and “ECHO” MEN., saying News reached Liverpool today of two employees of the Liverpool Post and Echo having been killed in action, namely, Sergeant Sidney Smith, Lewis Guns (L.H.Y., K.L.R) late Pals, and Sergeant Edward M’Inroy, King’s Liverpool regiment. Sergt Smith was formerly in the advertisement department of this office and Sergt M’Inroy in the stereo department. Both men joined the forces in the early stages of the war and rapidly secured promotion. Smith joined on the first Saturday after war was declared, and, having had previous training in the Territorials, quickly rose to the rank of sergeant. He joined the “Post” and “Echo” advertisement staff as a boy, and his loss is severely felt by his colleagues who held him in the highest esteem. He leaves a young widow.

Another notification in the obituary column has “Smith October 18, instantaneously Sgt Sidney Smith Lewis Guns (L.H.Y., K.L.R., late Pals, the dearly loved and devoted husband of Alice Smith (Apollo Lodge 2042). Deeply mourned by his sorrowing Wife and all at 25 Craigburn-road Tuebrook. The effects of Sidney were forwarded onto Alice comprising of letters, photographs, set of compasses, cards, and Paper re Freemasons. Could this have been his Grand Lodge Certificate? In 1919 Alice was awarded a small pension of 16 shilling and 3 pence per week. His total active service was 3 years and 347 days, and his death came only 3 weeks before the war came to an end on 11 November 1918. His widow moved back to her residence at 663 West Derby Road, which was were Sidney’s awards and medals consisting of the 1915 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal were then forwarded to, along with the death plaque and memorial scroll..

Four men were killed in action from Sidney’s battalion that day, and likely a few died from their wounds in the following days. Sidney is buried in Grave 53, Maurois Communal Cemetery, around five kilometres south of the town of Le Cateau.

Masonic :

Sidney was one of three initiated into APOLLO LODGE No 2042 on 25 March, 1913, aged 24 and described as a Book-keeper, of 1 Larkhill Lane, Clubmoor, Liverpool. His proposer was William John Hague Booth, seconded by Herbert Montgomery Jones. He was passed to the second degree the following month, on 28 April, and raised to the degree of Master Mason on 26th May, 1913. His Grand Lodge certificate was issued on the 7th August, 1913. In 1915, Sidney was a Steward within his lodge.

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
• Researcher : Geoff Cuthill