Haigh, Sydney

4805 Private Sydney Haigh - 51st Battalion AIF

Sydney Haigh was born in Leed Yorkshire England in 1880 to George and Sarah Haigh.

He was educated and grew up in Leeds.

Sydney travelled to Western Australia in the 1901 and took up farming in the Western Australian wheatbelt. He was farming at Bulberth Farm East Wagin.

Prior to the Great War Sydney was living at 34 Suffolk Street Fremantle, having taken a break from farming.

On the 14th December 1915 Sydney enlisted into the Australian Imperial Force. He was accepted as fit for enlistment, with the medical examiner recording his physical attributes as;

Height - 5 feet 5 & 1/3 inches tall;

Weight - 130lbs;

Chest Measurement - 34-38 inches;

Complexion - Dark;

Eyes - Brown;

Hair - Dark Brown.

After his successful enlistment Sydney was sent to Blackboy Hill Camp where he was assigned to No.39 Training Depot. He was taken through the basics of infantry work here and after a few weeks was assigned to the 14th Reinforcements to the 11th Battalion.

On the 1st April 1916 Sydney and his group embarked from Fremantle Harbour aboard the transport ship Ulysses. They set sail for Egypt, arriving there on the 25th April 1916.

Sydney was disembarked and sent to the 3rd Training Battalion. He remained in the reinforcements for the next few months in Egypt. On the 7th June 1916 Sydney left Egypt for France aboard the transport ship Huntspill arriving at Marseilles on the 14th June 1916.

After arriving in France, Sydney and the reinforcements were entrained north for Etaples. He was now assigned to the 4th Australian Division Base Depot. He would remain here for the next two months as it wasn't until the 21st August 1916 that he was taken on strength of the 51st Battalion AIF.

The 51st Battalion had just come through their first action at Pozieres and there were gaps in the ranks to fill. There was not much time for Sydney to become familiar with his new unit, for on the 3rd September 1916 he took part in an attack on Mouquet Farm.

The 51st Battalion captured part of the farm, but the Germans were able to soon surround them and many of the men were killed, wounded or captured. Sydney was among those taken prisoner by the Germans. He had been wounded in the right clavicle but not severely. Sydney would spent the rest of the war as a prisoner in Germany.

After the Armistice in November 1918, the prisoners of war such as Sydney began to be repatriated. Sydney arrived at Dover on the 21st December 1918. After reporting into the AIF HQ in London, Sydney was given a month's furlough. He spent some time visiting family and friends in Yorkshire.

On the 23rd January 1919 Sydney reported into No.2 Command Depot Camp at Weymouth to await being assigned a berth on a transport ship home. On the 20th February 1919 Sydney was sent to No.1 Command Depot Camp at Sutton Veny.

On the 31st March 1919 Sydney was sent to Liverpool where he boarded the transport ship Khyber. The ship then set sail for home, arriving at Fremantle on the 23rd May 1919.

Sydney was discharged from the AIF on the 7th July 1919.

On his return from the war Sydney took up residence at 403 William Street Perth. He then married in 1920 in Perth to Eva Rose Ebery. The marriage took place at a Presbyterian Church in West Subiaco.

Sydney then went back to the country farming at East Kulin. They were farming here through to the 1950's

Sydney died in Shenton Park on the 10th January 1959 aged 78. He was cremated at Karrakatta Cemetery.