| Full Name | Alfred Sydney |
| Nickname(s) | Alf |
| Rank (highest) | Lance Corporal |
| Service Number | 17399 |
| Company | D Company |
| Battalion | 11th Battalion (Lonsdale) |
| Regiment | Border Regiment |
| Enlisted / Commissioned | Workington, Cumberland / 16 November 1914 |
| Theatre(s) of War | France and Flanders |
| Born | Workington / 22 May 1891 |
| Nationality | English 
|
| Former Employment | Butcher |
| Parents | Charles and Mary Ann Sydney Brown's Place, Seaton, Workington |
| Residence(s) | Seaton |
| Casualty Type | Commonwealth War Dead |
| Died | 10 July 1917 |
| Age | 26 |
| Cause of Death | Killed in action |
| Burial Type | Memorial |
| Reference Number | Border Regiment Panel |
| Resting Place | Nieuport Memorial Commemorated in perpetuity by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission |
| Coordinates |  Latitude: 51.13708 / Longitude: 2.75563
|
| Additional Memorial(s) | Camerton Parish War Memorial |
| Commemorative Scroll | Yes / click here |
Biography
Alf Sydney was born in 1891 and grew up in the West Cumberland town of Workington. Alf was one of seven brothers and sisters. Unlike his father and brothers, he didn’t go on to become a brickworker or miner. As a teenager Alf worked as a farmhand in rural Aspatria, before becoming a butcher.
When the war broke out, Alf and his family were living in the village of Seaton. Along with several of his mates, Alf lost little time in joining Cumberland’s own Pals Battalion, enlisting in the Lonsdales on 21 December 1914. With dozens of other West Cumberland lads, Alf became a member of D Company, and was placed in 13 Platoon. By 7 September, with the battalion already in Codsford, Wiltshire, Alf had qualified to be one of the company’s stretcher bearers.
With the rest of the battalion, Alf set sail for France in November 1915, and shared those tough, formative months in the trenches with his mates in D Company. On 1 July 1916, Alf became one of the casualties on the Somme. He was listed in ‘The Times’ as having shellshock. After treatment at the front, he was sent to the County of London War Hospital in Epsom. During his stay in Epsom, Alf wrote to the mother of Osborne Lewis, a friend killed on the first day. His letter reveals a kind and thoughtful man, with a strong faith. After a week to ten days at Epsom, he was transferred, along with other Lonsdale men, to Hut 21 Camp B, Convalescent Hospital Alnwick. Alf spent two months recuperating at Alnwick, recovering mentally and phsically from his ordeal.
From November 1916 to April 1917, Alf spent time in various camps in England, from Walney Island to Crosby in Liverpool. After April he rejoined the Lonsdales at the front. On 10 July Alf took part in the battle of Nieupoort in Belgium. His family received news that he was missing and desperately tried to find out if he was a prisoner, or worse. A report from one Seaton Lonsdale, a friend of Alf's, said that he had been seen wounded during the course of the battle. It was only eight months later, in a letter from a D Company POW in Germany, that they heard the news that they must have been dreading.
I have to inform you that your brother was killed on the morning of July 10th, 1917. I am proud to tell you, your brother was a good soldier, one of the best, and died doing his duty.
Alf has no known grave and is remembered on the Nieupoort memorial, along with fifty seven of his comrades. Eight of these were original Lonsdales who had crossed the channel with Alf back in 1915.[1]
References and notes
- ↑ Biographical information courtesy of Peter Sloan.