Additional Notes & Sources
Sidney Thorne
Birth - Certificate
Name: Sydney Charles Thorne
Born: 9th December 1894.
Father: Charles Thomas Edgar Thorne, Labourer in Yeast factory
Mother: Kate Ruby Poole.
Address: 69 Friar Street.
Registered: 11th Jan 1895
Southwark, Borough Rd.
Birth - BMD Index
Births Mar 1895
Thorne Sydney Charles St.Saviour 1d 52
Parish Record
Name: Sidney Charles Thorne
Baptism: 6 Jan 1895
Father: Charles Thorne,
yeast merchant
Mother: Kate Thorne
Abode: 69 Friar Street
Where: All Hallows,
Southwark, Surrey
NOTE: Friar Street was renamed Webber Street.
Marriage - Certificate
Date: 19th December 1925
Place: Registry office Southwark
Name: S. Thorne, aged 31,
Seaman Merchant service
Father: Charles Thorne(deceased),
Boiler makers labourer
Address: 188 Queens buildings
Scovell Road
Name: A. Hawkins, aged 29,
Paper packer
Father: John Hawkins(deceased),
Type founder
Address: 3 Toulmin Street
Witness: D Lee, & H Lee
NOTE: D Lee was Dora, Sidney's sister, & her husband Harry Lee.
Death details
BMD Deaths Mar 1954
Thorne Sidney C 59yrs Camberwell 5c 317
Death Certificate...
Name: Sidney Charles Thorne
Date: 14th Feb 1954,
aged 59 years.
Occupation: Formerly Engineers Labourer
Informant: A J Hawkins
widow of the deceased
Address: 35 Reading House
Peckham Park Rd SE15
Cause Death: 1.a Generalised
carcinomatosis
1.b Carcinoma of oesophagus
11. Gastrosomy
Burial...
Buried: 20th Feb 1954,
Nunhead cemetery.
Grave No.: 22411/23sq, Public grave.
NOTE: Update May 2008, After years of searching I've found the gravestone buried. Has been cleaned up and put back in it's place. Click to see photos.
School Admissions
All London, England, School Admissions and Discharges, 1840-1911
Name: Sidney Thorne
Age: 3
Birth Date: 9 Dec 1894
School: Orange Street School
Borough: Southwark
Admission Date: 4 Jul 1898
Parent: Charles (Labourer)
Address: 99 Victoria Buildings,
Suffolk St.
Name: Sidney Thorne
Age: 6
Birth Date: 9 Dec 1894
School: Orange Street School
Last School: Belverdre place
Borough: Southwark
Admission Date: 11 Mar 1901
Parent: Charles (Labourer)
Address: 46 Great Suffolk St.
NOTE: Orange Street School is now the Jerwood Space. It is situated between what is now Copperfield Street on one side and Union Street on the other. Just off of Great Suffolk Street. The top half of the building no longer looks the same due to damage done in WWII.
I believe the address is 99 Great Suffolk street, 9 Victoria buildings, as that is the address for Charles on the 1898 electoral roll.
Times Newspaper 14th Oct 1908
At Tower-bridge, Sidney Thorne, 13 a Schoolboy, was remanded charged with setting fire to a warehouse at Newington-causeway. The prisoner had admitted his guilt, but said that "he could not help it."
South London Press 6th Nov 1908
A BOY INCENDIARY. Sidney Thorne (13). Schoolboy, 7, King's-Place, Southwark, was brought up on remand, before Mr. Baggallay, charged with setting fire to a warehouse, 6 King's-place, Southwark, on the 18th October, the property of Wm. Ashwell, cork manufacturer. - Wm. Westcott, industrial school officer, now stated that information had been received that the boy had set fire to another place previously, and he asked that prisoner should be further remanded in order that a doctor might examine him as to his state of mind. - Prisoner was further remanded.
Royal Navy Service Record 1912 - 1922
In process of transcribing Sidney's Royal Navy record, from the 9th December 1912 to 1922.
Please do contact me if you need to know more or would like to see the original image in pdf format.
RN Medical Treatment at Sea
Name: Sidney Thorne
Rank: Able Seaman
Ship: HMS Mantis
Age: 23
Ailment: Old injury right hand.
Date: 16th June 1916
Discharged: 18th June 1916
Information: Man was discharged to Hospital Basra. Man was treated aboard HMS Mantis and Tigris Gunboats.
Archive Ref: ADM101/389
Log Book - HMS Mantis
Abadan - Lat 30.3, Long 48.3
19 June 1916 - 4.0pm: AB Thorne discharged to hospital
Log Book - RIM Dalhouise
Basrah - Lat 30.5269, Long 47.8407
30 Dec 1916 - AM joined from SS Chakla: S Thorne, Able Seaman
Basrah - Lat 30.5269, Long 47.8407
14 Jan 1917 - PM Discharged To Waterfly for Mantis: S Thorne, Able Seaman.
NOTE: Click HERE to see the log entry for that day on Mantis. Or go to Naval-history.net, to see a list of all the log entries for HMS Mantis.
Abadan is in Iran, and approximately 33 miles from Basra,in modern day Iraq.
RIM is Royal Indian Marine. Dalhousie log books are here. SS is Single-screw Steamship.
UK, Naval Medal and Award Rolls 1793-1972, 134 Roll, R.N.
Name Rank No. Medals,&c.earned
THORNE,Sidney C, A.B. J.15663 ST V B
NOTE: Sections titled "How Issued or disposed of" and "Remarks" were blank.
NOTE: ST.= 1914-1915 Star
B.= British War Medal
V.= Victory Medal
NOTE: 1914-1915 Star - For service in all other theatres of war, 5 Aug 1914 & 31 Dec 1915; and for service in France and Belgium, 23 Nov 1914 - 31 Dec 1915
British War Medal - For service abroad (including India) 5 Aug 1914 - 11 Nov 1918, or 1919-1920 in Russia.
Victory Medal - For military & civilian personnel who served in a theatre of war.
Electoral Register 1818 & 1919
Absent Voters List - Queens Buildings, Scovell Road.
Thorne, Sidney Charles 188 JI5663A.B.,H.M.S "Pembroke"
NOTE: A William Ward is also listed at the same address.
Certificates of Discharge - Merchant Navy.
Able Seaman Sidney C Thorne (b.1892 Southwark/London)
Name of ship: Semper Paratus (146060).
20th Aug to 18th Sept 1923 - Salvage work, N.Atlantic.
19th Sept to 30th Sept 1923 - Intended foreign.
Ability and General conduct on both were stamped "Very B17 Good".
NOTE: HMS Buttercup Launched Oct 1915 was sold in Feb 1920 & became mercantile salvage vessel Semper Paratus.
Harrisburn telegraph. 6th July 1923 - TO SEARCH FOR GOLD ON SUNKEN LUSITANIA. The salvage steamship Semper Paratus left Dover yesterday with clearance papers for the North Atlantic, reputedly to attempt salvage of the gold from the sunken Lusitania.
Sidney was on the Semper Paratus at this time. He was qualified Navy diver so perhaps he was hired for those skills. There were many newspaper reports surrounding this particular trip at the time. Count Landi, the owner and salvage expert, had invented a new diving suit which he claimed would allow them to go deeper then before and therefore deep enough to get to the Lusitania which lay at 280 feet. Current suits would allow divers to go down only so far as 120 feet. Landi's plan, they said, was to raise the ship. He had done this many times before with wrecks. Semper Paratus was specially equipped with all the latest salvaging gear, including an electric blasting machine. But all was not as it seemed...
Landi was being very coy about his intentions. Later newspaper reports show he was in fact trying to muscle in on someone else's salvage attempt on the Dutch steamship Tubantia, sunk by German torpedo, which was said to hold £2,000,000 of bullion. The right to dive on Tubantia was subject to court proceedings concerning damages and trespass by Landi's ship. The court issued an injuction against the Semper Paratus.
If you search google for the Semper Paratus and Lusitania, and also Tubantia, many interesting newspaper articles turn up in the results (for free).
The second voyage that Sid was on, shown above as Intended foreign, appears in a short newspaper article states that while lying off of Gravesend, some of the seamen went ashore and when they returned two were missing. Both found in the mud off of Gravesend and one had been hit over the head with a blunt instrument. He died a few days later from a fractured skull. No one seems to know what had happened. At the inquest some of the men who were with him in the motor-boat gave evidence that they were not able to say how the accident occurred or how the men got into the mud.
NOTE: Sidney's year of birth is wrong. He was born 1894. These two certificates were among Sid's personal papers.
NOTE: I'm still searching for Sid's Merchant Seaman records. He is missing from the Merchant Navy Seamen register, and without his discharge number I can't seem to find any other records, for now. It might be a job for a professional researcher. I've been told if I could find the crew list of the Semper Paratus for the dates above, that "sometimes" they list the discharge numbers of the crew too.
Electoral Register 1925
188L Queens Buildings, Collinson Street.
O O Thorne, Catherine Ruby
O _ Thorne, Sidney Charles
Film Extra - 1927
Dark Journey 1937, Starring Vivian Leigh.
Sidney was one of the extras right at the end of the film. He is one of a group of sailors jumping from a vessel into the sea.
I have the film on DVD but it is too grainy to pick him out. I like to think he is the one with the cap on that was very similar to the cap he wore in real life, haha.
Newspapers - 1932
Western Daily Press Bristol, England - 3 Aug 1932
MAN WHO LOST HIS LAST SIXPENCE AT DARTS. Holiday Tragedy of Two Friends.
A Man who, during the day, had lost the last sixpence that he had in his pocket at a game of darts, was that night found dead before a gas-stove at his tenement home in Southwark, London. Some time later man friend, whom he had partnered at darts, and who occupied a separate tenement the same buildings was taken to Guy's Hospital suffering from poisoning. The dead man Albert Puckey (54), an unemployed boilermaker, and his death was discovered when his family returned from a Bank Holiday outing.
The man in hospital is Charles Sidney Thorne (38) an ex-naval man. Puckey, who had been unemployed for several years, remained at home yesterday while his family went went out for the day. When his daughter returned she found him dead before the gas-stove and ran down to Mr Thorne, whose door she collapsed.
Wife's Screams. Thorne, after running upstairs and rendering assistance, returned to his own home and apparently retired for the night. Some hours afterwards neighbours heard Thorne's wife screaming. With a neighbour Mrs Thorne left their rooms and on her return Thorne was found lying unconscious suffering from gas poisoning.
In the same room two of Thorne's five children - a boy and a girl, aged seven and three respectively - were fast asleep apparently unharmed. Thorne was removed to Guy's Hospital, where friends watched by his bedside throughout the night. It is expected that he will recover, but his condition last night was reported to be serious.
Evening Telegraph Angus, Scotland - 2 Aug 1932
TRAGEDY FOLLOWS GAME OF DARTS MAN WHO LOST HIS LAST SIXPENCE.
… Thorne, ex-naval man, had recently restarted work after long illness. A few weeks ago a man to whom he was talking collapsed and died before his eyes. Puckey had been unemployed for several years.
Nottingham Evening Post - 3 Aug 1932
… NO QUARREL. Betty Mary Mason, employed at a public house in Southwark, said Puckey came into the house on Monday with another customer named Sid Thorne. The time was 11.30, and left at about one of clock. Puckey and Mr. Thorne had was glass of ale each. The Coroner: Was there from 11.30 till 1 o'clock and only had one glass of beer. What was ho doing? Miss Mason: He was reading the paper, and for time watched some men playing darts. Did you notice anything unusual about him? - seemed rather depressed? There was no quarrel or dispute? - No, he left the public house perfectly sober …
NOTE: Newspaper reports of the Coroner's inquest said that Mr.Puckey had been unemployed for several years and suffering ill health for many years. He had chronic bronchitis, had TB (unknown to him), was blind in one eye (the result of an accident), and suffered from sleeplessness and depression. Verdict was deceased's mind was unsound at the time took his life.
Electoral Register
1930, 1931, 1932, 1935, 1936 and 1939.
188 L Queens Buildings, Collinson Street.
R O Thorne, Sidney Charles
Rw Dw Thorne, Amelia Jane
NOTE: R. = Residence Qualification
B.P. = Business premises qualification
O. = Occupation Qualification
H.O. = Qualification through husband's occupation
N.M. = Naval or Military Voter
D. = Qualification through wife's occupation
Women...
Rw = Residence qualification
Bw = Business premises qualification
Ow = Occupation Qualification
Dw = Qualification through husband's occupation
NOTE: Queens Buildings, L Block, was hit by a parachute landmine in October 1940.
Letter from Admiralty
Dated 20th Aug 1936.
S.C. Thorne - C/J.15663
Served as Boy 2nd and 1st class ordinary and able seaman from 17th Jan 1912 to 8th March 1922 when discharged.
Personal description 9/12/1912
D.O.B: 9 Dec 1894
Height: 5'5½"
Hair: Light Brown
Chest: 36"
Eyes: Grey
Complexion: Fresh.
Marks: scar inner side of left knee.
1939 Register
Name: Sidney C Thorne
Gender: Male
Marital status: Married
Birth Date: 9 Dec 1894
Residence Year: 1939
Address: Police HM Dockyard
Residence: Chatham, Kent, England
Schedule No: 175 Sub Schedule: 26 Enumeration District: DHCB Registration district: 47-1
Memorandum Admiralty
1st Sept 1939
Royal Marine Police Special Reserve.
Enrolled 8th Sept 1939
Served:
H.M dockyard Chatham 8-09-39 to 6-11-41
Admiralty Buildings 7-11-41 to 6-10-45
Discharge 6-10-45 'Consequent upon a reduction of complement' Rank of Constable.
Efficiency: Satisfactory
Character: Very Good
Electoral Register 1945 - 1954
35 Reading House, Friary Estate.
Sidney C Thorne
Amelia J Thorne
