SON OF COL. ARTHUR SYKES CBE
FOR ENGLAND, DEAR ENGLAND
AND HOME

PRIVATE ARTHUR LEWIS SYKES

CANADIAN PIONEERS

1ST SEPTEMBER 1916 AGE 21

BURIED: RENINGHELST NEW MILITARY CEMETERY, BELGIUM


For some reason I find this rather a haunting inscription - why? Perhaps it's the use of the adjective 'dear'. Private Arthur Sykes was 21 when he died. He had enlisted in December 1915 in Victoria, British Columbia. His father lived in Kingston Hill, Surrey. Arthur junior was born in India - ergo father served in the Indian Army. Why had father thought it necessary to elevate his son's humble status as a private by adding his own name and honours to the inscription? Had Arthur emigrated to Canada? Was his heart still in England, had he longed for home? I have been unable to find out any more about either Arthur so will never know.