Date of birth: 30/07/1896

Place of birth: Leichhardt, New South Wales, Australia

Last known residence: 450 Elizabeth Street, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Profession: Grocer

Religion: Church of England

Country: Australia

Force: Australian Imperial Force

Rank: Private

Service number: 4720

Enlistment date: 24/01/1916

Enlistment place: Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Units:  —  Australian Infantry, 17th Bn. (New South Wales)  (Last known unit)

Date of death: 20/09/1917

Place of death: Anzac, Zonnebeke, Belgium

Cause of death: Killed in action (K.I.A.)

Age: 21

British War Medal Medal

Victory Medal Medal

Sydney Frederick France was the son of Marion and Edward Archer France. He was born on 30 July 1896 in Leichardt, New South Wales, Australia. Sydney worked at a grocery shop and had already served for 1,5 years in the 26th Battalion. On 24 January 1916, the 19-year-old Australian enlisted with his older brother Joseph Douglas France. Both brothers belonged to the 17th Battalion (2nd Australian Division, 5th Brigade) and were given successive regimental numbers.

Sydney and Joseph both died on 20 September 1917, the first day of the Battle of Menin Road, part of the Battle of Passchendaele. The 5th Brigade attacked from starting positions on the Hanebeek, between the hamlet of Westhoek and Zonnebeke. The 17th Battalion, to which Sydney and his brother Joseph belonged, attacked the third objective. This line ran from Garterpoint to just before Albania Woods. According to the testimony of Corporal J.V. Jacka, Sydney was a runner in the battalion, carrying messages between units. While he was in a trench, a grenade exploded on the parapet. Shrapnel broke his jaw. He received first aid immediately, but died in a dressing station. According to Jacka, he would also have been buried there. His personal file lists the area around the hamlet of Westhoek and Anzac Ridge as his burial place. His elder brother also died on the same day. After they took the target, a bullet fired from a German aircraft hit Joseph in the chest.

21-year-old Sydney Frederick France has no known grave. He is commemorated at the Menin Gate on panel 17, stone M. His 25-year-old brother Joseph is buried at Poelcapelle British Cemetery in plot LV, row B, grave 6.

Joseph Douglas France  Brother

17th Australian Infantry Battalion, (Australian War Memorial, Campbell (AWM), AWM4 23/34/26). https://www.awm.gov.au/ Sources used

5th Brigade Australian Infantry, (Australian War Memorial, Campbell (AWM), AWM4 23/5/27). https://www.awm.gov.au/ Sources used

Anglican Parish Register 1814 - 2011 (The Sydney Diocesan Archives, Sydney). http://www.sydneyanglicanarchives.com.au/home.html Sources used

Australian Red Cross Wounded and missing Enquiry Bureau (Australian War Memorial, Campbell (AWM), RCDIG1045305). https://www.awm.gov.au/ Sources used

First Australian Imperial Force Personnel Dossiers, 1914-1920, (National Archives of Australia, Canberra (NAA), B2455, FRANCE S F). https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=4033161 Sources used

McCarthy, Chris. Passchendaele: The Day by Day Account (Londen: Arms & Armour Press, 1995), 80 - 83. Sources used

Roll Of Honour (Austarlian War Memorial, Campbell (AWM), RCDIG1068867). https://www.awm.gov.au/ Sources used

Unit embarkation nominal rolls, 1914-18 War (Australian War Memorial, Campbell (AWM), AWM8). https://www.awm.gov.au/ Sources used

Commonwealth War Graves Commission Database https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/923589

Namenlijst (In Flanders Fields Museum) https://namenlijst.org/publicsearch/#/person/_id=5a24e3b1-f046-4cb0-a70e-cd12d9428846

Lives of the First World War (Imperial War Museum) https://livesofthefirstworldwar.iwm.org.uk/lifestory/7446226

The AIF Project (UNSW Canberra) https://www.aif.adfa.edu.au/showPerson?pid=102935