Sydney was born in 1885 to John Thomas and Eliza. He was living at 6 Crawley Green Road in 1911 with his mother, a straw hat machinist, four sisters, Olive, a milliner aged 19, Doris 12, Marjorie 10, Elsie 7 and his 4 year old brother Leslie. Sydney was working in the hat factory warehouse. He had attended Luton Grammar School & is remembered on the Roll Of Honour plaque found at Stockwood Park.

During the Great War, Sydney was in the Royal Flying Corp, 4th Balloon section. This was an extremely dangerous job to have. The large gas filled balloons carried men equipped with maps and radios who identified enemy targets for the artillery. They were easy targets for the enemy to spot and it wasn't until 1916 that the men were given the folding parachute, first used in the USA, to use. If the balloon was punctured, the men would parachute to safety whilst the ground crew winched the exploded balloon and equipment down.