Soldier Record

Rifleman Sydney Arthur Cracknell, 47107, King's Royal Rifle Corps 13th Bn, was the son of Arthur Rodwell Cracknell and his wife Kate Collins. He was born on 10 November 1899 at Monk Soham, Suffolk. His father died in the Boer War; his mother remarried to Samuel Hawes and together they were the licensees of the Swan public house at Walsham le Willows, Suffolk. Sydney was wounded in the head by shrapnel (and had a paralysed arm) while fighting on the Western Front. He was sent from France to the Military Hospital in East Dulwich, London, where his mother is known to have visted him. He had been reported as dangerously ill but was conscious. On 15 December 1918 he was operated on, but he died on 16 December 1918. He was buried at Walsham le Willows on 20 December 1918. The local newspaper (probably the East Anglian Daily Times) reported that he was buried in a coffin of elm with brass handles. His name is recorded on the War Memorial at Walsham le Willows.