Sidney Reeves was born in August 1888 in Pewton Mewsey near Andover, the son of Richard and Emma Reeves. Later the family moved to Appleshaw, near Andover.

Sidney had been stationed in Trowbridge whilst serving in the Royal Horse Artillery. It was here that he met his future wife. Sidney married Mabel Jenkins in Melksham in 1908.

After he left the army, they lived on Staverton Road in Trowbridge, and Sidney worked as a farm labourer. They had three children; William Henry, Alfred Howard and Elizabeth Emma. Later the family would move to St Thomas Passage in Trowbridge.

At the outbreak of war, Sidney was recalled from the reserve and on 15 August 1914 landed in France with 3 Brigade, RHA.

The unit concentrated around Maubeuge in Belgium and moved forward towards Mons on 21 August. Its first action was the Battle of Mons on 23 and 24 August where they fought on left flank before taking part in the subsequent retreat, notably the actions of Elouges, the Battle of Le Cateau, the action at Néry and the First Battle of the Marne in September 1914.

As the fighting moved north, Sidney’s unit took part in the Battle of Messines and in the First Battle of Ypres, notably the battle of Gheluvelt at the end of October 1914. In 1915, it took part in the Battle of Neuve Chapelle and the Second Battle of Ypres.

The autumn of 1916 saw the unit in action on the Somme, and in 1917 the brigade fought in a number of major actions including the Battle of Arras and the Battle of Cambrai.

Sidney served in France for two years and six months, returning from the Western Front in early 1917 on account of illness.

Reports suggest that he spent nearly 10 months receiving hospital treatment, before being posted to serve at No1 Cadet School at St John’s Wood.

On the night of 7 March 1918, whilst awaiting discharge from the army, Sidney was caught up in an air raid on London.

A German ‘Giant’ bomber dropped a 1,000kg bomb, intending to target Paddington Station.

Instead, the bomb landed on Warrington Crescent, destroying four houses, and damaging a further 140.

At least 12 people were killed and a further 23 seriously injured – including Sidney Reeves.

Sindey received multiple wounds to his back and legs. An urgent telegram was sent to the police in Trowbridge and Mabel Reeves caught the next train to London.

Sadly, Sidney died of his injuries at St John and St Elizabeth Hospital in St John’s Wood on 8 March 1918, before she could arrive.

Sidney was buried in Trowbridge Cemetery and is remembered by name on the town’s war memorial.

For his wartime service, his family were issued with the 1914 Star, the British War Medal, the Victory Medal, and the Memorial Plaque. Mabel remarried after the war and she and the children moved to Edinburgh Buildings, the Halve in Trowbridge.

Her husband, Frederick Brown was a cabinet maker for a company in Chippenham. They would go on to have five further children and by 1939 were living on British Row in Trowbridge.