Fireman Sidney Leonard McDonald
| Date of Birth | 1892 |
|---|---|
| Age at Death | 25 |
| Date of Death | 13 December 1917 |
| Service Number | 835225 |
| Military Service | Royal Naval Mercantile Marine Reserve (MMR) |
| Merton Address | |
| Local Memorial | Morden Cemetery |
Additional Information
Sidney Leonard McDonald was born to parents Charles who worked as a Gas Stoker and Emma (nee Sandham). His parents had married in Bexley Heath, Kent on 22nd July 1888 and by the time Sidney was born in 1892 they already had three children: Cecil, Gladys and Winifred.
After Sidney came Violet and Bertie with all three being Baptised on 15th December 1898 at Christchurch, Bexley Heath. The family address was listed as Crown Street, in Bexley Heath.
By 1901 the family were living at 30 Woolwich Road, Bexley Heath and Sidney’s father Charles aged 36 was working as a Gas Stoker at the Royal Arsenal. The family was still growing with Florence born in 1901, Colin in 1903 and Ivy in 1905.
In 1908 Sidney’s eldest brother Cecil died aged just 18.
Another sibling called Lillian was born in 1911, at which time the family were living in three rooms at 2 Livingstone Road, New Becton, East Ham. Sidney was aged 19 and working as a labourer at the local gas works, his parents had been married for 22 years and had 10 children with two having died. They were sharing the property with another family who had eleven children.
When war broke out Sidney worked as a Fireman for the Royal Navy Mercantile Marine Reserve and served on HMS Vindex. This was a Royal Naval Sea Plane carrier converted from the fast passenger ship SS Viking. The Vindex operated in the North Sea where she twice unsuccessfully attacked the German Zeppelin base at Tondern.
Sidney died on 13th December 1917 aged 25 at The Downs Sanatorium in Sutton from Pulmonary Tuberculosis. He was buried on 21st December 1917 at Morden Cemetery and his name also appears on a stone memorial in the churchyard.