Corporal Sidney Easom 11th (Service) (Midland Pioneer) Battalion Leicestershire Regiment

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission has no-one by the name of S Easom in its records nor does he appear in other WWI records. However the CWG do have a Sidney Eason as does ‘Soldiers Died in the Great War’. He is shown as a Lance Corporal No. 14575 in the 11th Battalion Leicestershire Regiment, born in Leicester, enlisted in Leicester and residence in Great Glen.

It seems reasonable therefore to assume that these entries apply to Sidney Easom of Great Glen and that he was killed in action in France on 22nd March 1918.

Arras Bay 5

Sidney is commemorated on the Arras Memorial, Pas de Calais, France and his name can be found on Bay 5. The directions to the Memorial can be found on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission web site. Click on the link for directions. As can be seen from the photo of the panel on which Sidney’s name is inscribed, he is referred to as Lance Corporal S Eason.

37th Division

The 9th Leicesters were formed in Leicester in September 1914 and were part of the 23rd Division until April 1915. They were based at Aldershot then Shorncliffe in Kent. Sidney arrived in Boulogne on 29th July 1915 and the Division proceeded to the Western Front. In July 1916 they were transferred to the 37th Division and were involved in the Battle of the Somme from the beginning. They were also involved in all of the major battles of 1916 and 1917 including Passchendale and Sidney must have seen more fighting than anyone else on this memorial.

Leicesters Shoulder Title WW1

The 9th Leicesters were disbanded on 20th February 1918 and the members of the battalion dispersed between 6th, 7th, 8th & 11th Battalions. Presumably Sidney went to the 11th (Service) Battalion (Midland Pioneers) in the 6th Division, IV Corps. This Battalion should therefore be the one which is shown on the Great Glen memorial, not the 9th.

The 11th Leicesters were in the 6th Division at the battle of San Quentin 21 – 23 March 1918. They were the Division’s Pioneer Battalion. The Battalion continued with general repairs and trench works throughout the month of January and February when Sidney joined them. During this period the Germans were building up for their last major offensive of the War. March 21st 1918 would mark the start of the German Spring Offensive.

Tiger's Service Battallions
No 'Hindoostan'

The Battalion War Diary reads as follows :-
21/3/1918 - 12.10am Received orders to 'Stand to' in Vaulx-Morchies line. Companies in position by 5am. The enemy attacked heavily after intense bombardment (which lasted for about 5 hours) at 8am and established themselves in position in front of the wire at Vaulx-Morchies line by the evening. 10pm - Wire, rations, water and ammunition were sent up to companies' original billets. 5.30pm - Received message from Sgt Barratt ( D Coy) that all officers of the Company had become casualties and he was in command - reinforcements sent to D Company.
22/3/1918 - 9.30am Transport moved back, withdrew to Army line. 4pm Transport moved to Pioneer Camp - Longeast Woods. What remained of companies to new line. 30 o/r killed, 106 wounded, 81 missing. 4 officers killed, 7 wounded, 4 missing.
Sidney was one of the other ranks killed on 22nd March 1918. He would have been 24.

Arras Memorial
Showing Bays

He was the son of Thomas & Edith Easom who were living in Burton Lane, Great Glen when the 1901 Census was taken. Thomas was a 37 yr old bricklayer born in Great Glen and Edith a 33 yr old self-employed dressmaker from Little Stretton. Sidney was 7 at the time and had a 3 year old brother Edward. Sidney was born in Leicester although his brother was born in Glen.
Thomas was a non-conformist and in October 1904 was one of several signatories to a letter sent to the Great Glen school managers demanding that their children be removed from religious education instruction. The managers agreed in the end that as the religious instruction from Monday to Thursday was Bible based and the Church Catechism was only taught on Friday then the parents could choose their own teacher and the children involved could have a separate room on Friday.
When the War Memorial inside St Cuthbert’s church was unveiled it was to have engraved upon it the names of those men from the village who had died during the 'War to end all Wars'. Sidney Easom’s name is not on that memorial presumably because of his non-conformist links.

Sidney was awarded the 1914-15 Star, having gone overseas on 29th July 1915, the British War Medal and the Victory Medal. His medal record is in the name of Sydney Easom which confirms the surname. It also shows him as an acting corporal.

It seems that Sidney, for all of his fighting for King and Country has received a raw deal when it comes to remembering him. His name is spelt wrongly on the Arras Memorial, it is also spelt wrongly on the 'Soldiers Died in the Great War' CD, the wrong battalion is shown on the Great Glen War Memorial and his rank is shown as Lance Corporal instead of Corporal. Finally he does not appear on the War Memorial in St Cuthbert's church when it is obvious he was not the only man from a non-conformist family in the village to lay down his life.

He is, however, shown on the 'Roll of Honour' which hangs inside the church. His brother Edward also appears here.