Identity
Person No.
24640
Service No.
2775
Last Name
First Name
Fred
Initials
F
Date of Birth
Unknown
Est. Birth Year
Age at Death
19
Death Record
Date of Death
Cause code
DOW 2,734
Died of wounds
Military Service
Location
Country
Locality
Grave Reference
Coordinates
Memorial
Memorial
Location
Durban Light Infantry Headquarters, Durban
Address
Coordinates
Panel
On the panel
Position on the panel will be added with photographs
Notes
Son of Laura Brooks (formerly Sykes), of Silver Oak Avenue, Overport, Durban, Natal, South Africa, and the late H. Sykes. Born at Stainland, Yorks, England.
Research notes
Delville Wood Rollcall (delvillewood.com): confirmed present in the SA Brigade's ranks 14/15 July 1916 -- "Private Fred SYKES, 2nd SAI - Wounded, Died of wounds on the 2nd February 1917 (Aubigny Communal Cemetery Extension)"
Citations
Unknown
External References
-
Delville Wood Rollcall (delvillewood.com)
open source ↗
Private Fred SYKES, 2nd SAI - Wounded, Died of wounds on the 2nd February 1917 (Aubigny Communal Cemetery Extension)
-
K.M. Jordan — DLI research (ABW / WWI ROH)
K.M. Jordan, Durban Light Infantry: WWI Roll of Honour ("Work in Progress" draft, July/Aug 2026; email to John/Bobby, 3 Sep 2026). Local file data/jordan_dli_wwi_roh_2026-08.pdf (Downloads: "1. Durban Light Infantry WWI ROH - July, Aug 2026.pdf"). WWI ROH #142 Private SYKES, Fred, age 19, Force No 2775, 1st South African Infantry Brigade: Born Halifax, Yorkshire, England 9/10/1897; a clerk before enlistment; served with the Durban Light Infantry in GSWA 1914 – 1915; served with the 2nd Regiment in Egypt & France; WIA at Mersa Matruh 23/1/1916; WIA Delville Wood July 1916; WIA 30/1/1917; died of wounds. Buried/commemorated: Aubigny Communal Extension, Pas de Calais, France. (Also, on the Durban Light Infantry & the Durban Cenotaph WWI Memorials & on a family gravestone in the Stainland Wesleyan Graveyard, Yorkshire, Engl…
- South African War Graves Project open source ↗
Stories 1
According to familylore: Joseph Henry Orchard b. 1856 Southampton, England married Sarah Ellen Jeffrey. They ventured to South Africa in 1879 where they settled in Cape Town and Joseph worked for the Cape Times and later for Government Printers W.A. Richards and Son. They had the following children: Eliza Helen 1880, George Albert Victor 1882, Arthur Henry 1884, Joseph francis 1886, Bertie Cecil 1893, Gertrude Mary 1894 & Alma Margarite 1897. Joseph had been a member of a Harts Volunteer Regiment and on arrival at the Cape he transferred to the Duke of Edinburgh's Own Volunteer Rifles. He served in 1879 during the 'Kaffir War', 'Basuta Campaign' and other native campaigns (in which he received medals). As a marksman he won the D.E.O.V.R. Commanding Officers prize in 1884 and around 1889 had the honor of going to England as a member of the first Bisley Team to represent South Africa in England. The team did not win the King's medal, but they won individual medals. Serving as a Sergeant in the 'Anglo Boer War', Joseph died on 30 May 1900. he was killed at 'Faber Puts' a farm in Douglas in the Cape province about 70 miles south of Kimberly. His son George, who played the bugle, sounded the 'Last Post' at the burial. In the 1960's the bodies of the soldiers killed in the area were taken to Kimberly together with headstones and placed in a memorial site in the local cemetery. As mentioned, this is according to information passed through generations of my family:
Dedications
No dedications have been added yet.