Have You a Tiger In Your Family?

Rank : Corporal

Army Number : 11363

Unit : 3rd Bn, 7th Bn

Biography :

Sidney Watkinson enlisted at Leicester in September 1914. He served in 7th Bn The Leicestershire Regiment, entering France on 8.12.1914. He was Killed in Action at Berlaimont in France on 6.11.1918, aged 23 years. He is one of seven soldiers of The Leicestershire Regiment buried at Berlaimont Communal Cemetery Extension, Nord France.

In February 1918, Infantry Brigades in France and Flanders were reduced to three Battalions. The 110th (Leicestershire) Brigade comprised 6th, 7th, and 8th Battalions The Leicestershire Regiment. In June the 8th Bn was reduced to a Training Cadre and its place in 110th Bde was taken by 1st Battalion The Wiltshire Regiment. During the Battle of the Sambre (1-11 November 1918), on 5 November the 110th Brigade's lead battalions - 6th Leicesters and 1st Wiltshires - crossed the River Sambre by means of a captured bridge and by planks laid across a damaged lock to continue the advance until the 7 November. It was at this stage of the fighting that Cpl Watkinson was killed, in the final week of the First World War.

Date of Birth : Apr 1895

Place of Birth : Christ Church, Leicestershire

Date of Death : 6.11.1918

Place of Death : Berlaimont, France

Civil Occupation : Cycle repairer

Period of Service : 1914-18

Conflicts : WW1

Places Served : France and Flanders