Sydney volunteered for the RAF in 1940 but as defective eyesight disabled him from qualifying as a pilot he became a wireless operator, gaining the rank of Sergeant and in 1942 was posted to Ferry Command.

He was part of the flight crew in a Wellington Bomber Ic HE130 that left Gibraltar for an operational flight to the Middle East. No signals were received from the aircraft which was lost with all its five crew having deemed to have perished at sea as of Thursday 4^th February 1943. Sydney was 22 years of age.

Son of Sydney Nelson Purchase & Alice Alida Purchase of Moseley, Birmingham.

A copy of this story is also available for download here.

Revised: November 2025

St Agnes Church WW2 Memorials Colmore Crescent, Moseley, Birmingham
Photography by Peter Leadbetter