18th Infantry Regiment, 1st Division (US Army)
Sydney Richard James was born on 22 September 1890, the son of Thomas and Matilda James of Nelson Green, near Cinderford. After leaving school he worked at the Arthur and Edward Colliery at Lydbrook.
On 9 September 1914 he sailed, with his younger brother Walter, from Liverpool to make a new life in the USA and work in the coal mines in Ontario, Illinois.
He enlisted in the US Army on 5 June 1917. He was killed in action on 9 November 1918 in operations to the south of Sedan, and was buried in the Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery, Romagne, France. He is remembered on the War Memorial in the United Reformed Church at Drybrook.
His brother Walter also enlisted, rose to the rank of Sergeant, and survived the war to return to the USA.