Sydney Edward Peters was born at the end of 1891, the only child to farmers Edward and Annie Peters. The family lived in Bishop’s Hull, near Taunton, where Edward also employed two members of staff to help with the household and his dairy herd.

Sydney went on to manage the neighbouring farm to his father, and looked to be making a living with this. Keen on sport, he went on to captain the village cricket team, and took an interest in physical fitness.

War broke out and Sydney was quick to enlist. Joining the West Somerset Yeomanry, he was assigned to the 1st Battalion. Initially the regiment were based on home turf, and he spent a lot of that time in East Anglia. He must have made a positive commitment to the troop, and was soon promoted to Serjeant.

In the early summer of 1915, he returned to Taunton, to help drill recruits at the Territorial Depot there. A short while after returning to his Essex he fell ill, and before the battalion were due to be shipped overseas, Serjeant Peters went back to Somerset on leave.

By the time he reached home, however, he was severely ill, and very quickly died from what turned out to be blood poisoning. Serjeant Peters was just 23 years old.

Sydney Edward Peters was buried in St Mary’s Cemetery in his home town of Taunton.

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