No.61167, Private, Sidney SOUTHGATE
Aged 41
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Sidney Southgate was born in 1876 in (Chelmsford Q1-1878 4A:265) son of John and Elizabeth Howard SOUTHGATE (née CARRINGTON).
1881 census...Aged 3, he was at 48 Roman Road, Chelmsford, Essex, with his father John SOUTHGATE [38] gardener born Langham, Essex; his mother Elizabeth [37] born Manningfield, brothers Frederick [11], Alfred [9], Clarence [6], Harry [4] and Walter {9 months]. All the children were born in Chelmsford. 1891 census...Aged 13, a market gardener, he was at Duke Street, Chelmsford, with his parents (father a market gardener), brothers Frederick (tailor), Alfred (footman), Harry (market gardener) and Walter (scholar). 1901 census...Aged 22, a gardener, he was at The Bothy, Highlands Estate, Widford, Essex, with Baldock born, fellow gardener, Edwin PURTON [21]. His parents, and brother Frederick and Walter were at Rainsford End, Chelmsford. In 1906 he married Emma Caroline KETLEY [27-11-1882](Chelmsford Q3-1906 4A:1129) 1911 census...Aged 33, a domestic gardener, he was at Malting Cottage, Dullingham with his wife Emma and son Wilfred [3] born in Monmouth They had two children, Wildred Thomas [22-1-1908] and Cecil Sidney [9-2-1914] After his death, his wife Emma emigrated to Canada where she remarried(as BYE); her passage and those of her children being paid for by her prospective husband. |
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Enlisted in Newmarket, he originally enlisted in the Middlesex regiment but transferred to the 24th Battalion of the Royal Fusiliers in 1916 as a Private On the 4th September 1917 he died of his wounds. The news of his death was reported shortly afterwards in the Essex County Chronicle on the 14th September 1917, which read:- "Pt. S. Southgate, son of Mrs. J. Southgate, 52 Rainsford Road, and the late Mr. J Southgate, fruiterer and florist, Chelmsford, died on Sept. 4, from wounds received in action. He joined the Royal Fusiliers on the 19th June, 1916, and leaves a widow and two children, who reside at Dullingham, Newmarket. He was 39. Sidney is commemorated on the Civic Centre Memorial, Chelmsford and the Dullingham War Memorial in Suffolk. He was entitled to the British War Medal and Victory Medal." As with all the wounded, without their Army records it is almost impossible to say where or when they were wounded. There were at least 5 base hospital in Calais, providing 2,500 beds. Sportsmans Battalions The 23rd and 24th were the Sportsman's Battalions, which owed their origin to Mrs. Cunliffe-Owen, daughter of the late Sir Philip Cunliffe-Owen, K.C.B., and wife of the late Edward Cunliffe-Owen, C.M.G. The idea arose quite spontaneously. Mrs. Cunliffe-Owen, on rallying some men-friends for not being in khaki, was challenged to raise a battalion of middle and upper class men up to the age of forty-five. She promptly went with them to a post-office and telegraphed to Lord Kitchener, " Will you accept complete battalion of upper and middle class men, physically fit, able to shoot and ride, up to the age of forty-five ? " The reply was, " Lord Kitchener gratefully accepts complete battalion." The India Room, Hotel Cecil, was taken for a month, a dozen ex-officers were begged from the Officers' Association, and the enrolment began. Each applicant, in the presence of one of these ex-officers, filled in a form stating his chest measurement, height, weight, nationality, and whether he could shoot and ride and walked well. The form was then taken to a screened-off part of the room, where Mrs. Cunliffe-Owen signed it. The men were then sent to a recruiting office to be medically examined and attested. The first battalion was complete in four weeks, and Mrs. Cunliffe-Owen hustled a contractor into putting up a fully equipped and model camp in nineteen days. These were astounding achievements. Most other battalions raised outside the War Office regime called upon more or less elaborate organisations. Mrs. Cunliffe-Owen formed her own organisation, looked into everything, even the menu, and pushed the scheme through to a triumphant success. Needless to say the "upper/middle class" criteria became relaxed as the War wound on. |
photo: Commonwealth War Graves Commission
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