Born in 1895 at Forest Gate, son of James (Telegraphist) and Annie Townsend. 1911: A Clerk in an India Rubber Works, living with his family at 113 Ham Park Road, Forest Gate. He joined the Army at Epping on 4th October 1916, initially posted to his choice Regiment the Civil Service Rifles, but on 27th December 1916 he transferred to the Machine Gun Corps. The family home at this time was “Kinross” Crescent Road, South Woodford, later 101 Crescent Road.
After training he was sent to the B.E.F. on 2nd March 1917. In the days between the major First and Second Battles of Passchendaele (part of Third Battle of Ypres), lower level hostilities continued. On 15th October 1917 Sidney Townsend sustained shrapnel wounds to the head, arm, thigh, and buttock. He succumbed to these injuries on 17th October 1917 in one of the Casualty Clearing Stations at Outtersteene.
Research by Adrian Lee, Local Historian
Sources:
Ancestry.com