Last month we reported on alderleyedge.com that historians from Hong Kong were trying to trace the family of a local man whose ID tag was found in a country park in the centre Hong Kong.
In January 2015 local history enthusiast Dave Willott was using a metal detector to look for war relics when he found an ID tag, which belonged to able seaman John Siddans.
Philip Cracknell, a retired banker based in Hong Kong and a history enthusiast, described the find as the "holy grail of military metal detecting" as they seldom find anything which they can link to an individual.
John Siddans (whose name is sometimes spelt Siddons) was born in 1901, served in Hong Kong during World War 2 with HMS Tamar and is commemorated on the War Memorial at St Philips & St James Church.
After publishing the article about the search for Jack Siddans' family Arthur Faux, a member of the family, contacted me and sent some photographs.
Arthur, who was born in Alderley Edge, and his sister Norma remembered stories about Jack Siddans from their mother, whose own mother Jessie Clarke was a cousin of Jack Siddans and had grown up together in the Clarke family home.
Jack's mother Susannah Siddans (nee Catherall) died in 1908 at the young age of 48 at which time Jack was only eight years old. He was sent off to live with his aunt Esther Clarke (nee Catherall) who was his mother's sister and who had married William Clarke.
Esther and William had six children of their own including Jessie Clarke who was Arthur and Norma Faux's grandmother and was a cousin of Jack. The Clarke family lived at 21 Chorley Hall Lane, which is where Jack grew up with his cousins before joining the Royal Navy. Members of the Clarke family lived at this address for more than a hundred years.
Jack married in 1934 to Florence Richardson, they had no children. In 1953 several years after the war ended Florence remarried to John Hulme from Alderley Edge. On the wedding certificate she describes herself as a housekeeper resident in Woodford, and her father as a retired farmer. John Hulme was a widower and retired foreman.
Arthur told me "I was intrigued when I read your article regarding Jack Siddans although I did wonder if indeed it was the same person Philip Cracknell was researching. I have exchanged several emails with Philip to help provide a little family background information and have found Jacks story fascinating.
"I feel very proud of Jack and his achievements yet sad to hear how demanding and difficult his last few months must have been. How lucky we are to be born in different times."
Philip Cracknell said "This search all started with an ID bracelet belonging to a war time sailor found in the hills of Hong Kong.
"The finder of the ID bracelet plans to donate it to a museum in Hong Kong which will help commemorate Jack's life and his role in the defense of Hong Kong. As I write this I reflect on what an an amazing find it was and to think that it had lain undisturbed in that ravine beside the road all these years since December 1941. In fact most likely since 20th December 1941."
The historians discovered that Jack Siddans survived the fighting and he survived incarceration in appalling conditions in Japanese Prisoner of War Camps at North Point and Sham Shui Po. In late September 1942, he was shipped with other POWs to Japan to work as slave labourers in factories, ports and coal mines.
The Japanese freighter named the Lisbon Maru, in which he was traveling was torpedoed by an American submarine not realizing that it was carrying British POWs.
Tony Banham who wrote "The Sinking of the Lisbon Maru" (2006) has seen official records which confirm Jack managed to get off the sinking ship and was picked up by one of the Japanese escort vessels and that he died on the way to Shanghai. John died of exposure and his body was thrown over the side along with others who died after being picked up.
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