Private Sidney Charles Housego
| Date of Birth | c. 1876 |
|---|---|
| Age at Death | 45 |
| Date of Death | 9 March 1921 |
| Service Number | M/271740 |
| Military Service | Mechanical Transport Royal Army Service Corps |
| Merton Address | |
| Local Memorial | Streatham Park Cemetery |
Additional Information
Born in Paddington, London c. 1876, Sidney was the son of Jacob Thomas and Annie Housego. His father worked as a cab man and the family lived at 19 Malvern Mews, Kilburn.
In 1898 he married Maria Agnes Cracknell at St John the Evangelist Church in Kilburn and they has a daughter Isabel, who sadly died aged just 6 months. Their marriage was short lived as Maria died in 1906.
In 1901 Sidney joined the Army and served in the 9th Battalion of the Duke of Cambridge’s Own in South Africa. His records show that he was 5ft 5¾ with brown hair and eyes. He served in South Africa and was discharged on 3 September 1902 on the termination of his engagement.
Sidney then married Nellie Clara Layton Smith in 1908 and they had a large family: Isobel (Belle), Kathleen and Marjorie (twins), Hilda and Sidney who followed his father into the RASC and died in World War 2. There were also three more boys who all died as babies.
The 1911 census shows that he, Nellie and their three oldest children were living in South Kensington and Sidney was a cab driver.
At the start of the war, he joined up again, enlisting on 28 August 1914 as a Private in the Royal Army Service Corps. He served in France but was discharged on 9 October 1915, possibly wounded.
Sidney and his family were living at 5 St Mark’s Road, Fulham in 1921. He died of pneumonia on 9 March 1921 but his health was considered to have been compromised by his war service and his grave in Streatham Park Cemetery is cared for by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.