KNOWLES, Sydney Vernon Lawrence

Sydney Knowles came from Birmingham. His link with Lye is unclear but he volunteered for the Worcesters and joined the 2/8th (Territorial) Battalion. They went to the Western Front in 1916 and fought on the Somme. In 1917 their Brigade suffered heavy losses in the November Battle of Cambrai and in January 1918 the 2/7th had been merged with the 2/8th. In March 1918 they were expecting the first German Spring offensive and were posted in a range of trenches facing the Hindenburg Line at St Quentin. When the offensive opened on the 21st March, they were directly under the Bruckmuller barrage and were overwhelmed. Nine officers were killed and nine were captured. Lance Corporal Sydney Knowles was one of many killed in action on that day and is commemorated on the Pozičres and Lye and Wollescote Memorials.