Background

Sidney Findley was born September 10, 1896 in Birmingham, England to Charles Findley and Letitia Maria Turner. While there are few details of their marriage, Charles’ military record suggests that they married July 22, 1896, just before the birth of Sidney. Census records reveal that Sidney had two siblings, a sister and a brother born to Letitia and Charles. The 1901 British Census suggests that Sidney’s early upbringing was in Birmingham at the Turner family residence located near 119 Barr Street; however, by the spring of 1908, Sidney would sail for Halifax, Nova Scotia from Liverpool aboard the S.S Carthaginian as part of the Middlemore Boys, British Home Child program. Little is known regarding the circumstances of his upbringing and why Sidney would leave England, especially since documents highlight that his father worked as a jeweler and had been a veteran of the South African War. Regardless, Sidney would find himself living in New Brunswick by 1911 as a domestic work hand for Charles and Alice Ross, of Nashwaak Bridge, later having a residence at 246 Queen Street in Fredericton. In addition to having Sidney in the home, the Ross family had a daughter named Pearl.

According to Sidney’s attestation record, he was only seventeen years old when he formally enlisted to join the Canadian Expeditionary Force. Documents show that he was working as a farmer in the area and had no prior military experience. Along with other Fredericton residents, while Private Findley left with the 71st Regiment at the beginning of the war under the leadership of Lt. Col. Harry F. McLeod, he would formally enlist at Valcartier, Quebec with the 12th Battalion and would soon begin training in preparation for going overseas. Standing approximately five feet six inches tall, Private Sidney Findley was described as having hazel eyes, light brown hair, and a swarthy complexion. He would never return.

Wartime Experience

On October 4, 1914, Private Findley embarked from Valcartier, Quebec aboard the S.S. Scotian for England. Upon arrival, Sidney would remain with the 12th Battalion over the winter of 1914-1915 for training, perhaps also getting an opportunity to visit his family for the first time in eight years. Records indicate that both his father and brother were also serving with British units in Egypt while his mother worked as a Royal Nursing Sister in England. By February 1915, Private Findley would leave England, transferring to the 14th Battalion, and land in France making his way to northern France and the Ypres Salient region. While few details exist of his exact location during the next six months, the 14th Battalion was engaged in battles at Festubert and at Ypres making it likely that he was fighting there as well.

The spring and summer of 1915 was an active year of trench warfare and the introduction of poisonous gas brought added stress to conditions faced by soldiers. For Private Findley, any opportunity to find a break away from the frontline was important. In late November 1915, Sidney would be granted a week-long leave of absence to England. Upon return from his leave, Private Findley would find himself in trouble for being absent from his billets, forfeiting three day’s pay and receiving field punishment #1, which meant that he would be chained to a heavy object in a public space for approximately ten days. A few months later, Sidney would be admitted to hospital suffering from German measles and would remain in treatment for two months.

By July of 1916, he would proceed to take a grenade course at the Canadian Divisional Training School in preparation for key battles he would be part of as the Somme began and continued over the summer and fall of 1916. Perhaps sensing that he would be part of something significant, Sidney signed his last form of will August 8 leaving everything to his mother. On September 3, 1916, the Canadian Corps would take over a section near Pozieres Ridge on the Somme in France, and Private Findley would be with the 14th Battalion as they moved into position. According to his circumstances of death record and the battalion’s official war diary, Sidney was with his unit on September 7 defending counter-attacks from the German line when he was killed. In the ferocity of attacks, his body would never be found nor recovered.

News of his death would be reported in the Daily Gleaner on October 3, 1916 revealing a letter had just been received at home prior to the news of his death. Sidney had told his mother that he “would be home soon” on leave to see her again. While papers in Fredericton reported Sidney’s death, news would also be received by the family that his father, Charles, and brother would be injured as well in engagements they had been a part of. Private Sidney Findley was only twenty years old at the time of his death, leaving behind his family in England as well as friends and loved ones in Fredericton.

Lest We Forget

Private Sidney Findley is honoured on the Vimy Memorial, located in Vimy Ridge, France. According to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Sidney is one of approximately 11,161 names on the memorial. It was designed by W.S. Alward and was created on the highest point of the ridge for all Canadians who served in France during the First World War that have no known grave.