Born on 7 November 1893 at Guildford WA, Methodist and joined the Education Department in 1915 as a Claremont Teachers College student for the short course. He enlisted on 13 January 1916. His parents were Theresa and Frederick Minchin of Dangin. As with thousands of other men, he trained at Blackboy Hill in the hills east of Midland Junction before embarkation at Fremantle on 6 June 1916 per A29 Suevic. He served in France where he was twice wounded. Sidney’s duties included laying out the cables used to carry the messages between officers at the front line and HQ. Wires were also laid in tunnels the AIF dug deep underground and below the enemy trenches to set mines and explosive charges. In October 1917, Sidney suffered a leg wound in action at Passchendaele and, on 23 May 1918, during the heavy action at Villers-Bretonneux, he was hit by a piece of shrapnel that pierced his face below the eye and passed down through the roof of his mouth fracturing his jaw. It took many years for the wound to heal and left him with a disfigurement and speech defect. He spent some months at a military hospital at Weymouth in the UK before returning to Australia 6 January 1919 per Takada. Service medals: BWM and VM. He resumed teaching but resigned in 1931. Soon after his discharge, Sidney married Ruby Marriot and spent many years in his war-service home at 96 Grant St, Cottesloe before retiring to the Salvation Army Senior Citizens Village in Nedlands.
