First World War Medal Pair – Able Seaman Sidney Gauge, Hood Battalion, Royal Naval Division – POW 1918
British War Medal – R. 714 S. GAUGE. ACT.A.B. R.N.V.R.
Victory Medal – R. 714 S. GAUGE. ACT.A.B. R.N.V.R.
Able Seaman Sidney Gauge was born on 2 February 1893 at Comberton, Cambridgeshire, the son of Joshua and Dora Elizabeth Gauge of West Street, Comberton. He was baptised at St Mary’s Church, Comberton, in September 1893 and grew up in the village, appearing in the 1901 and 1911 Census returns. Before the war he worked as a thatcher, assisting his father in the trade.
He initially had service connected with the Army Reserve, before enrolling into the Royal Naval Division on 12 February 1917, being allotted No. R/714. He was attached to the Hood Battalion, Royal Naval Division, and was promoted to Able Seaman on 7 May 1917. He proceeded overseas to France and served on the Western Front with the R.N.D.
During the heavy fighting of the German Spring Offensive he was reported Missing on 24 March 1918. It was subsequently confirmed that he had been taken Prisoner of War, later officially recorded as “Previously reported Missing, now reported P.O.W. in German hands.” He was held at camps including Limburg and Parchim, and later Friedrichsfeld, before being repatriated on 29 November 1918, arriving back in England after the Armistice.
He was demobilised in April 1919 and returned to Comberton, resuming his civilian occupation as a thatcher. He married Florence Rose Hagger in 1923 and later resided at Cambridge Road, Chesterton. By 1939 he was recorded as a thatcher engaged in heavy work on houses and stacks.
He died in November 1961 at Comberton, Cambridgeshire, aged 68, and was buried at St Mary’s Church, Comberton. His service reflects the experience of Royal Naval Division men who fought as infantry on the Western Front, endured capture during the crisis of 1918, and survived imprisonment in Germany before returning home to civilian life.
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AJMS Medals