Born in 1894 at Buckhurst Hill, son of William (Florist & Fruiterer) and Phillis Elizabeth Heyward. 1901: With his family at the Greengrocers shop next to the Saddler at Woodford Green. 1911: A Fruiterer with his family living on the High Road. Also with them was his cousin Leonard Charles Heyward. Sidney enlisted at Stratford and arrived in the Balkans on 17th July 1915.
On 5th August 1915 the Battalion was moved to the line, preparing to attack Turkish trenches H12, H12a and those under construction to the north east near Krithia. The attack itself on 6th August 1915 was initially successful, with H12a being occupied for a time, but casualties were heavy. Turkish forces mounted a fierce counter attack, which forced the Essex men out of trench H12a.
When the Battalion was withdrawn to Gully Beach, it was initially determined that 5 had been killed, 202 wounded, and 180 were missing. Of the 20 Officers who began the attack, 7 remained, the others being killed or missing. “Y” and “Z” Companies had practically ceased to exist, very few of “W” Company could be found, and only the reserve “X” Company had any fighting strength.
Sidney Heyward was one of those missing, and he was later presumed to have been Killed in Action on 6th August 1915. He is believed to be among the 2,226 unidentified burials in the concentrated Twelve Tree Copse Cemetery, and his name appears on a special memorial to those known or believed to be interred there. The list includes 142 Officers and Men of 1 Essex who were killed on 6th August 1915.
Research by Adrian Lee, Local Historian
Sources:
Ancestry.com
Woodford Times
Regimental History