A CHARITY dedicated to researching the lives of those who fought in the First World War is seeking relatives of a Pickering soldier who died 100 years ago.

Sidney Baker died in Turin, Italy, on May 2, 1919 - six months after the Armistice. He is buried in Turin alongside 15 other soldiers who are now referred to as the “Turin Men”.

Now, the charity Away from the Western Front is researching the stories of these men.

Lyn Edmonds, the charity’s project director, said that Sidney was born in 1886, the son of William and Mary Baker of Pickering. In the 1901 census, Sidney was living with his parents and his brother William in Hallgarth.

Sidney’s sister Harriet had left home and, aged 14. Sidney was working as a saddler’s apprentice.

By 1911 his father had died and Sidney was living with his mother and was working as a boot dealer’s assistant.

It isn’t known when he enlisted for the First World War; his medal index card shows that he served in the Prince of Wales’s Volunteers (South Lancashire) Regiment and also as a sapper in the Royal Engineers.

His Commonwealth War Graves Commission record says that he was serving with the General Base Depot when he died aged 32, but his service record has not survived, so it is not possible to confirm the details of where he served.

His entry in the Army Registers of Soldiers Effects, 1901-1929, records that his death was due to an “accident”.

Sidney is commemorated in the Memorial Hall in Pickering, and the “Turin Men” were remembered at a ceremony in Turin on November 11, 2018, by Italian school pupils who had been learning about the men and their lives during the First World War.

Ms Edmonds said she would like to make contact with any of his descendants and hopefully learn more about Sidney and share details of the event last year in Turin which attracted much publicity there in the Italian newspapers and on local TV.

If you can help, email lyn@awayfromthewesternfront.org. For more details, go to awayfromthewesternfront.org