Youngest British soldier of First World War fought at Somme aged just 12

The youngest Briton to fight in the First World War was just 12 years old — but Sidney Lewis’ identity remained a secret for almost a century until the chance discovery of faded documents revealed his extraordinary story.

The centenary of the start of the war in 1914 has brought official recognition of Sidney’s remarkable journey from an English schoolboy to a fighter on the bloody fields of the Somme.

The recognition is a source of pride for Sidney’s son Colin Lewis, who only discovered the truth about his father’s past a few years ago, long after Sidney died in 1969 aged 66.