Sydney Turner
Sydney Turner served as a private soldier (126576) with the 50th Battalion., Machine Gun Corps (Inf). He died on Friday, 4th October 1918.
He was born on 17th November 1898 in Felsted.
Sydney went to Rayne School, being admitted on 1st December 1905, leaving on 17th May 1912 to work in a shop. He enlisted in Braintree.
Private Turner was a prisoner of war in Germany. We do not know when or where he was captured. The war was almost over when he died in October 1918. Conditions for prisoners were very hard, they were poorly fed, and had to work for the Germans, in mines, factories or on farms. The influenza epidemic of 1918 took a large toll amongst the prisoners of war, who had little strength to resist the illness.
He is buried at Berlin, South-Western Cemetery, Brandenburg, Germany.
Sydney Turner is also commemorated at Rayne Church, and on a headstone at St Michaels Church, Braintree. This memorial contains the names of those who worked at Warners Silk Mill and were killed in the Great War.
William Turner served as a private soldier (282483) with the 2nd/4th Bn., London Regt (Royal Fusiliers) who died on Thursday, 20th September 1917.
He was born on 1st September 1882.
William went to Rayne School, being admitted on 22 February 1893, leaving on 3rd March 1893.
In 1911 the census records William as being 19 and working as a Foundry Hand in Rayne.
He lived and enlisted in Leyton.
William Turner is one of the thousands of soldiers
commemorated on the Menin Gate in Ypres. This is the memorial for all
those who died in the Ypres area but have no known grave. He died during
the third Battle of Ypres, during the advance through the mud towards
the village of Zonnebeek.
(photograph of memorial courtesy
www.britishwargraves.co.uk)
Sydney and William were brothers. Both sons of William and Mary Ann
Turner of Rayne.
Their children were Emma, Charles,
Lydia, William, Walter, Albert, Bertie, Ethel, Florence, Frank,
Sydney and Hilda.