Private Sidney Humphreys

Pte Sidney Humphreys enlisted in Liverpool 2 April 1940. His trade on enlistment was recorded as 'Cycle Factory'.  He Transferred to Airborne Forces from the Royal Welch Fusiliers.

Completed Parachute Course 61 at RAF Ringway in April/May 1943 with 8 jumps. Interestingly he has some very good comments recorded by his his jump instructor:

"Previous experience an asset.  Good on Sticks. Grand type".

The comment about previous experience would suggest he had parachuted before, a very rare occurrence in the 1930s and 40s.

He was then posted to 21st Ind Para Coy (Pathfinders) and served in all the major campaigns: North Africa, Italy, Arnhem, Norway and Palestine. A phenomenal record, which few others from 1st AB Division mirrored, given an average rate of 50% casualties per operation.

Carla recalls this about her grandfather Sid:

Grandad didn’t talk about his time in the war very much, I know his sergeant, Ron Kent, accidentally shot him through the knee when grandad was on cook duty, someone had left a loaded rifle on the floor and Ron kicked it sending a bullet in his knee, think it only skimmed him . 

When he was in Norway, he met my grandma, Aud Larson, where she worked in a morgue laying the deceased out. They married and had my dad, Keith, in September 1948. Unfortunately dad died from Hodgkins in 1972 at the age of 23. Dad was a police officer in Nottingham.

Grandad worked at Raleigh for a while after the war.  He loved his garden, especially his roses,  liked a bet at the bookies on the horses every Saturday too. He laughed with his eyes to, had a very good dark sense of humour.  

Sidney died from a massive stroke 4 November 2006 aged 86.