Sidney was born on 11 September 1919 in Mile End Old Town, London to Morris and Leah nee Kalisky and he was the middle child of three sons. In 1939 the family lived at 69 Sandbrook Road, Stoke Newington where Morris and George worked as taxi drivers and Sidney was a tailor and cutter. Sidney married Jean Cohen at Hendon Synagogue on 10th January 1943 eleven weeks before he was killed.

Sidney enlisted at Uxbridge at the end of 1939 and was appointed as a Class F Reservist. He trained as a wireless operator and air gunner. He was the W/Op on Wellington MP515 which departed from RAF Chivenor at 19.32 on an operational sortie over the Bay of Biscay. The aircraft failed to return to base and no signals were received. All crew are commemorated on Runnymede Memorial.

Captain, Allan Francis Hakala, RCAF, J/17267
W/Op, A/G, Wilfred Austen Lewis, 974474
2nd Pilot, Edwin Benjamin Mellor, 1127584
Nav, William Francis Christopher Rushton, 123009
W/Op, A/G, Charles Henry Coombe Stapleton, 1190707