SPARKES, Sidney James
| Service Number: | 3919 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 10 August 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 10th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Hackney, London, England, 8 February 1898 |
| Home Town: | Unley Park, City of Unley, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Apprentice Bootmaker |
| Died: | Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, 4 February 1992, aged 93 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Coorparoo St. Stephen's Anglican Church |
| Memorials: | Unley Town Hall WW1 Honour Board |
World War 1 Service
| 10 Aug 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 3919, 2nd Depot Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 2 Dec 1915: | Involvement Private, 3919, 10th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '10' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: RMS Malwa embarkation_ship_number: '' public_note: '' | |
| 2 Dec 1915: | Embarked Private, 3919, 10th Infantry Battalion, RMS Malwa, Adelaide | |
| 5 Jul 1916: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 3919, 10th Infantry Battalion, embarked Suez for Adelaide on board HS Karoola | |
| 22 Aug 1916: | Discharged AIF WW1, Private, 3919, 10th Infantry Battalion, Medically Unfit |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Chris Buckley
One of five brothers (George, John, Edward, Sidney and Harry) who served in WWI/WWII, Private Sidney James Sparkes (Service No:3919) served with the Senior Cadets and Militia before enlisting in the AIF on 10 August 1915 with 2nd Depot Battalion. Private Sparkes was attached to 10 Infantry Battalion on 2 December 1915 when he embarked with his Unit from Adelaide for Suez on board RMS Malwa. Taken ill in Egypt, Private Sparkes embarked from Suez for Adelaide on 5 July 1916 on board HS Karoola, and was attached to 10 Infantry Battalion at Discharge on 22 August 1916 (Medically Unfit). Older brother John Leonard (Private; Regimental No:8875) was serving with the South Lancashire Regiment when he was KiA in Turkey in 1916, and Edward Charles (Sapper; Service No:2828) died of illness in London in 1919.
Jim was born in Hackney, London, England in 1898, seventh of nine children of George Sparks (b1861 in Bethnal Green, London, England) and Emily Ashford (b1863 in Bethnal Green, London, England). George (a Riveter) and Emily (a General Servant) married in 1883 in London, where they settled and raised their family and George was a Shoemaker. In 1913 George and Emily immigrated with their children, arriving in Adelaide on board the Ballarat. The family settled in Adelaide, where George worked as a Bootmaker.
Jim worked as an Apprentice Bootmaker (GR Wills) in Unley before enlisting in the Army in 1915. Following his Discharge, Jim was a Bootmaker in Adelaide in 1919 when he married his first wife Ellen (Nellie) Florence Atkinson (b1894 in Nantawarra, South Australia). Jim and Nellie settled in Adelaide, where they raised their family and Jim was a Company Director. Jim left for England in 1934, returning to Adelaide in 1937, when he and Nellie divorced - both later remarried. Jim moved to Sydney, and then to Brisbane, and remarried - to Thelma Marie Newman and later to Dorothy (Thea) May Robertson. Jim died in Brisbane in 1992 - Thelma died in Hong Kong in 1971, and Thea died in Brisbane in 1999.
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