TO PRESERVE WAR MONUMENTS
Harry’s family hero fought in hell battle Pint-sized sailor is pride of actor Tom
drivers from Yorkshire for the Army Service Corps Waggoners Special Reserve and also paid for the Metropole Hotel in Hull, where he was an MP, to be converted into a military hospital.
With the help of his wife, Lady Edith Sykes, he also worked to improve the medical arrangements at the battle-front.
But the majority of his time and energy was spent on the secret Asia Minor treaty – and the agreement was to be the end of him. Exhaustion brought on by constant travel saw his health deteriorate and he was one of 230,000 British victims of the global Spanish Flu pandemic.
He died in Paris in February 1919, aged 39, and was survived by Lady Edith and six children. Jeremy Sykes, 71, another grandson backing the Sunday Mirror’s campaign, said: “He was the driving force behind all sorts of things.
“So it’s important for this memorial to be restored in his memory. But also in the memory of all those who died in the First World War.
“We must be aware of our heritage. And it’s important the younger generation don’t forget it.”
Sledmere’s Eleanor Cross was built in the 1890s and is a copy of 12 erected in the late 13th century in honour of King Edward I’s first wife, Eleanor of Castile. Another famous Victorian copy exists at Charing Cross, London.
It was Sir Mark’s idea for Sledmere’s cross to be turned into a war memorial – though he never lived to see that day. His descendants keep his memory alive with regular visits there.
Christopher Simon Sykes, 69, who has written a book about his grandfather, added: “We get an ice cream and sit on the steps of the Eleanor Cross.
“I always take a family photograph. I hope it will keep the memory alive.”
And he urges other proud families across the country to rally to the cause – to maintain these fitting memorials to their own heroic ancestors. ONE Direction star Harry Styles made his acting debut in this year’s hit war film Dunkirk – inspired by his great-greatgrandfather, a hero from World War One.
Elijah Daniels was in his 30s when he volunteered as a private in the 4th Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment.
He was wounded at the Battle of Arras in northern France. The British offensive raged between April 9 and May 16, 1917 as our troops attacked German defences.
There were big gains on the first day but they were followed by a bloody stalemate that resulted in nearly 160,000 British and about 125,000 German casualties.
The 4th Battalion lost 200 men. Elijah suffered serious injuries and, after several months in recovery, switched to another unit.
He was awarded a campaign medal – all the more poignant as he was a volunteer rather than a conscript. As a 37-year-old married man, he would have been exempt.
After the war, he lived with wife Maggie in Peterborough and worked as a labourer. HOLLYWOOD heavyweight Tom Hardy played a heroic Spitfire pilot in war movie Dunkirk – though his own great-greatgrandad fought at sea. Edward Egmore Hardy joined the Royal Navy on August 31, 1898, aged just 15. According to war records held by family history website Find My Past, Edward became an AB – able seaman. Documents revealed “his character was very good and he made up for his short stature by being very bright”. After leaving the Navy in 1905, he worked for the London Fire Brigade before rejoining the Armed Services when war was declared in 1914. Edward was just 5ft 1in – a true pint sized hero.