Commemorated: | |||
| 1. Memorial: | Roclincourt Military Cemetery | ||
| 2. Book: | The (1921) Masonic Roll of Honour 1914-1918 | Pg.138 | |
| 3. Memorial: | The (1940) Scroll - WW1 Roll of Honour | 1C GQS | |
Awards & Titles: | |||
Family :
Sidney Archer Wilkes was born on 6th November 1880 in Kingwinsford, Staffordshire, the youngest of seven sons of John and Annie Wilkes. His father was a commercial traveller for a brewery. Sidney married Alice May Anderson in Conwy, Caernarfonshire in 1908.They had two daughters.Education & Career :
He attended King Edwards School Dudley from 1894 to 1896 and later Ashton School in Dunstable. He matriculated in 1901 as a Non-Collegiate student at Oxford University, boarding at 18 Hockmore Street, Cowley. He graduated BA, presumably in 1904, and later took his MA. He then had teaching posts at Clifton School Dunstable and King’s School Peterborough where he was an assistant master. He joined the staff of Cardiff High School in September 1910 as an assistant master. In 1911, he and his wife and two daughters were living at 140 Kimberley Road, Penylan and they later moved to 14 Alfreda Road, Whitchurch.
Service Life:
Campaigns:
- The First World War 1914-1918, World-wide.
| Unit / Ship / Est.: 4th Battalion Black Watch |
| Action : The Second Battles of the Somme 1918 |
21 August - 3 September 1918. Following the success at Amiens which Ludendorf described as "the black day for the German army" the conditions were right for the advance to be continued over the old Somme battlefield. Astonishingly the battlefield was crossed in 10 days, compared with the four months of the first battle. The Germans were pushed back towards the Hindenburg Line defences.
He was commissioned on 30th May 1917. He spent about two years training in Britain before he went on active service around nine months before his death.
He was killed in action on 24th August 1918.
He is buried in Roclincourt Military Cemetery, near Arras, France (IV.E.13).
He is also commemorated on the King Edwards School Dudley war memorial and on the King’s School Peterborough war memorial located in Peterborough Cathedral.
Masonic :
| Type | Lodge Name and No. | Province/District : |
|---|---|---|
| Mother : | Glamorgan No. 36 E.C. | South Wales |
Initiated | Passed | Raised |
10th December 1915 | 14th April 1916 | 12th June 1916 |
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