You may be wondering why Sydney was so keen to follow his father into the war. Firstly, the young men joining up to fight had no idea what it was they were getting themselves into. Nobody could imagine the terror, mud, injuries and senseless deaths occurring minute by minute in the trenches and battlefields of the First World War.

Today, we are used to seeing news reports of wars across the globe. Film of the battles is beamed into our homes on a daily basis and photographs and stories are found in newspapers every day.