John was born in 1880 or 1881[1] in Warrington, Lancashire (now Cheshire), the son of Yorkshire-born Edwin SYKES and Hannah NOBLE.
Edwin was a wire-drawer and presumably that occupation took him with Hannah and their Halifax-born daughter, Alice Ann, to Warrington which had a booming wireworks industry in the late 19th century.
The family settled and expanded in Warrington, ultimately totalling eleven children, of which John was the seventh.
John had worked as a Joiner, but on 19th October 1898 he enlisted for military service, and was posted as a Private to the 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards, in which his older brother Edwin was already serving. Two years later, on 15th December 1900 he transferred to the Northumberland Fusiliers in which he remained for the rest of his service.
His enlistment forms record that he was almost 6ft tall, with brown hair and eyes. Later records note that he earned a gymnastics certificate in March 1903.
On 8th April 1903 he was promoted to Sergeant and on 24th October that year married Isabella Woods at the Parish Church in Warrington[2]. Isabella was the daughter of William Woods, a Cheshire born Joiner and his wife, Isabella. Anecdotal sources suggest their marriage was not welcomed by Isabella’s father, though the reason is not known.
When their first child, Muriel, was born in 1904 the family were in Dublin, but the rest of John’s 21-year army career would see him and his increasing family moving between other locations in Ireland, then to Newcastle, where a second daughter, Ina, was born on 21 November 1907, before being posted to India. There he was either stationed or lived at Murree, one of several high-altitude British Army camps, where his son John (later known as ‘Jack’) was born on 1st April 1910, but records show that he was stationed some miles to the east at Gharial Camp (these locations are now in Pakistan). Another son, Ronald, was born in Mhow, India on 26 June 1912. During John’s service in India at Deolali he contracted malaria.[3]
(Left to right) Muriel, Isabella, John, Jack, Ina c1910 India
By 1914 the family were back in England and living in Prudhoe-on-Tyne. John was newly promoted to Colour Sergeant and in 1915 promoted again to Company Sergeant-Major, followed by a three-year spell as Acting Regimental Sergeant Major. Another three children were born after the return to England: Marjorie (probably 1914 at Hexham); George on 23rd April 1916 (probably at Hexham), and another daughter in 1922. During 1919 John was stationed for a few weeks in France and in Germany for 8 months.
John had completed his military service on 30th November 1919,[4] his record noting his conduct as ‘Exemplary’ but the birth of his daughter in 1922 marked a tragic downturn in his fortunes when his wife died in childbirth and he found himself with a young family to support. He worked as a physical education teacher, but tragedy struck the family again when in (probably) 1930 he died suddenly of a heart attack.
His children appear to have been left largely to depend on each other, there being no relatives willing to take them in, including, it’s said, a wealthy relative who was a radio personality of the time (research has not established who this might have been).
The two oldest girls, Muriel and Ina, each married shortly after their father’s death and were able to take in some of their younger siblings, but as soon as practical they were urged to become self-sufficient. Jack (John Jr) moved to Maids Moreton in Buckinghamshire and worked as a plumber, though saw service during WWII. Marjorie moved to Hawick in Scotland with her husband where they ran a sweet shop. George made a new life in Vancouver where he married and had three children. John and Isabella’s youngest daughter still survives and lives in the USA.
%20in%20WW2%5B3%5D.jpg "Jack (john) in WW2")
Ronnie Sykes
Acknowledgement: All photo’s on this page published with kind permission of Sally Tarbox
[1] John’s enlistment form in October 1898 shows his age as ‘18 years and 4 months’ but some other documents show ’18 years and 2 months’, which suggests he was born mid-1880, but the births indexes record his entry in mid-1881. He is occasionally recorded as ‘James’.
[2] Their marriage was witnessed by Isabella’s older sister, Amelia Woods.
[3] John’s army medical history shows few ailments, but he spent 43 days in the Ipswich Military Hospital during Dec 1917 and Jan 1918 suffering from rheumatism.
[4] By the end of his service he had been awarded the Long Service and Good Conduct Medals.
