9th Battalion, King’s Royal Rifle Corps
Attached to 1/9th Battalion, London Regiment (Queen Victoria’s Rifles)
Sidney Charles Stroud was born in Cheltenham in 1898, one of two children born to Charles and Emily Stroud, of 6 Hereford Place, Swindon Road, Cheltenham.
It is not known when exactly he joined the King’s Royal Rifle Corps (KRRC) but presumably he was posted to the Western Front in the latter part of 1917, after reaching his 19th birthday. The 9th KRRC was disbanded on 3 August 1918 and Lance Corporal Stroud was posted to the 1/9th Battalion, London Regiment (Queen Victoria’s Rifles). There is a Medal Rolls Index Card for him but it only records his number and service in the KRRC.
It is likely that the wounds which caused his repatriation to England were sustained during one of a series of engagements which began on 16 October 1918. On the previous day the 9th London moved up to the front line and early the next day attacked German positions across a canal. All objectives were achieved and over the next six days the battalion continued to pursue the retreating German forces that were fighting a series of rearguard actions. The battalion was in reserve at Rongy on 22 October when it was shelled with high explosive and gas shells. The shelling caused 20 casualties, the last to be sustained by the battalion during the war. Stroud was probably wounded in these actions and was evacuated to England and the King George’s Hospital, Stamford Street, London SE1. The hospital was a converted warehouse and had been established early in the war and was in close proximity to Waterloo railway station – in fact there was tunnel access from station to hospital.
Sidney Stroud died of his wounds in this hospital on 16 December 1918, age 20. He was brought back to Cheltenham Cemetery for burial and a CWGC headstone now marks the grave. He is commemorated on the Cheltenham Borough War Memorial and also on the Cheltenham Parish Church Boys School Roll. A church adjacent to the former King George Hospital site reportedly has a memorial scroll listing the names of all those who died whilst patients of the hospital.
Researched by Graham Adams 8 February 2013
(Acknowledgement to ‘Leaving All that was Dear – Cheltenham and the Great War’ by Joe Devereux and Graham Sacker)