Taylor, Sgt Sidney Eric

602823 Sergeant Sidney Eric Taylor, MM

Service highlights

  • Service number: 602823
  • Rank: Sergeant
  • Decoration: Military Medal
  • Born: London, 24 January 1897
  • Came to Canada: immigrated to St. Marys in 1907
  • Home in St. Marys: lived on Water Street South, later on James Street South
  • Civilian work: woodworker, possibly at Maxwell’s foundry or St. Marys Wood Specialty
  • Enlisted: 34th Battalion at London, 30 July 1915
  • Sailed: from Quebec City to England on SS Caledonian, 23 October 1915
  • Training in England: transferred to the 23rd Reserve Battalion at Shorncliffe on 3 February 1916
  • Posted overseas: joined the 10th Canadian Infantry Battalion on 25 May 1916, serving in divisional reserve south of Ypres, Belgium
  • Promotions: lance corporal 27 October 1917, corporal 12 March 1918, sergeant 15 August 1918
  • Killed in action: 15 August 1918 at Hatchet Wood near Vrely during the later stages of the Battle of Amiens
  • Burial: originally at Beaufort British Cemetery near Moreuil, later reinterred at Cerisy-Gailly Military Cemetery
  • Remembered: commemorated on the St. Marys cenotaph

A Life and Service Remembered

Sidney Eric Taylor was born in London, England, and came to St. Marys with his family in 1907. His father found work at Maxwell’s, and the family built a life in town, first on Water Street South and later on James Street South. By the time he enlisted, Sidney was working as a woodworker, a trade that suggests steady hands and patience, the sort of quiet skill that rarely makes it into official records but shaped everyday life.

He enlisted in the 34th Battalion in the summer of 1915 and sailed from Quebec City to England on SS Caledonian on October 23 1915. In England he completed infantry training at Shorncliffe before being posted to the 10th Battalion in May 1916. From there, his war became a long run through some of the hardest fighting Canadians faced. The book calls him a good soldier and his steady promotions back that up. He worked his way up from the ranks, earned trust, and took on responsibility the hard way, one day at a time.

The photograph preserved of Sidney shows him as a lance corporal, likely taken in late 1917, perhaps it was to be sent home in time for Christmas. It is an image that pulls the story back to the human scale. Someone sat for that portrait, thought about home, and hoped it would arrive.

On 15 August 1918, the same day he was promoted to sergeant, Sidney was killed in action while the 10th Battalion held the line at Hatchet Wood near Vrely, near the end of the Battle of Amiens. He was first buried near Moreuil and later reinterred at Cerisy-Gailly. His headstone bears an epitaph provided by his mother: “Safe in the arms of Jesus.”

Sidney was survived by his parents, Charles and Selina Taylor of Church Street, a brother Cecil, and four sisters, Winnifred, Daisy, Ivy, and Dorothy. A nephew, Fred Blackman, helped keep Sidney’s memory present by sharing his photograph for a later publication. Sidney Taylor is commemorated on the cenotaph in St. Marys as well as through the local Legions Banner program.

Major battles and operations

Sidney served with the 10th Battalion through a long list of major engagements, including:

  • Mount Sorrel and the Somme, 1916
  • Vimy Ridge, Arleux, Fresnoy, Hill 70, and Passchendaele, 1917
  • Amiens, 1918
  • Holding the line at Hatchet Wood near Vrely, 15 August 1918, where he was killed in action

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