Photo by kind permission of his grandson, Nick Mobsby
Sidney was born on 17 July 1892 in Sussex, the son of Annie and Albert E Gooden. His father Albert, who was born in Somerset, was a domestic gardener and the family moved about a great deal in search of work. Consequently the children of the marriage were born in a number of different places. When Sidney was 19 the family lived in Naseby where his father, Albert, worked as a gardener on a large estate. At some time between 1911 and 1918, Albert decided to retire from gardening and he became the landlord of The Chequers, a popular public house in Manor Road, Spratton. Three of the brothers served in the First World War - Sidney, Eric and Hugh.
Sidney was conscripted into the King's Royal Rifle Corps in 1916, aged 24 and was sent overseas with the British Expeditionary Force. On 21 March 1918 the Germans broke through the allied lines and captured the village of Bullecourt, situated on the front line between Arras and Bapaume. On 24 March Sidney was taken prisoner. In December 1918 he was repatriated, arriving at Hull aboard SS Willochra. He arrived home in Spratton in January 1919 with three other returning prisoners of war. The vicar wrote in his Parish Newsletter: "It is a great joy to welcome them back from captivity and suffering - We trust they will speedily regain their strength and be none the worse for the hardships they have endured". Sidney was awarded the British War Medal and the Victory Medal.
He married Ethel Violet Addington in 1922 and died in Berkshire on 11 January 1961.
