By Deborah Larsen
Sydney George Albert Saltmarsh
Sydney George Albert Saltmarsh was born in Kent, England, on October 18, 1917, the son of Sydney and Gladys Kendrick Saltmarsh. Sydney’s parents migrated first to Canada and then to the U.S. in 1923. His father was employed as a window-washer with a Detroit company. By 1940, the senior Saltmarshes had settled on Dequindre Road on the Avon Township/Shelby Township border and were part of the Brooklands community.
Sydney joined the Royal Army Medical Corps in his native England. He was taken prisoner by German forces in 1940 after the Battle of France, and was interned in Stalag 8B, at Lamsdorf, Germany (now located within modern Poland). Sydney was held prisoner for 3.5 years and was finally released in 1944. Upon his release, he wrote to the Rochester Clarion to thank his parents’ friends and neighbors for their support and encouragement during his ordeal.
After the war, Sydney married and remained in England. He died in England at age 75 in November 1992.