221942 Sidney Francis Davies British Army 2nd Battalion Loyal North Lancashire Regiment from:Wrexham My grandfather, Sidney Francis Davies, joined up in one of the Pals Battalions when he was just 15 years old. As all his friends were already 16, he simply said that he was 16 too.
He was very proud to have been in 'the Loyals'. He was a boy bugler and remained a musician after the war, playing in the army orchestra.
He told me he was at Ypres and that he and some of his comrades helped out at a Belgian sugar factory when there was a lull in the fighting.
I still have his Soldiers Bible with 'The Soldier's Prayer' glued onto the inside cover and stamped S Davies 2 Batt Loyal Regt 1917. Folded inside is a palm cross.
While on active service, a bullet shattered his kneecap, leaving one leg shorter than the other for the rest of his life. He was discharged from the army and rehabilitated in Lancashire, training as a French polisher and cabinet-maker. He died at home in 1974 and the Royal British Legion sounded The Last Post at his funeral.
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