Royal Navy
Born: 3rd February 1918.
Story
Sydney was the only son of Sidney Prince (1873-1944) and Jemima Sparling (1874-1939), who married in Kippax on 7th June 1897. Before the War, Sydney was supporting his retired father, and lived at 40 Mount Pleasant, along with his older sister, Ida (1898-1943) and her husband Joseph Harrison (1896-1971) and their son Kenneth Harrison (1929-1998).
During the War, Sydney served on board HMS Onslow (painting of the ship below). Sydney’s most notable action was at the Battle of the Barents Sea, Norway, on 31st December 1942, when the ship’s Captain, Robert St. Vincent Sherbrooke (1901-1972), was escorting the important Convoy JW 51B towards North Russia, when they encountered the vastly superior German cruiser, Admiral Hipper, and the battleship Lutzow. The Germans attacked the convoy on four occasions, and on the first attack, Captain Sherbrooke was seriously wounded in the face and temporarily blinded. Nevertheless, he continued to direct the ships under his command and even when the next senior officer had assumed control, he insisted on receiving all reports of the action until the convoy was out of danger. Captain Sherbrooke won the Victoria Cross as a result of his actions.
Kippax Roll of Honour 