Herbert Sidney Spooner was born in 1894 in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire. He was the son of John Barber Spooner and Annie (Holdham) Spooner. He was the brother of John William Spooner, Richard Turner Spooner, Frank Leslie Spooner, Harry Valentine Spooner, Phillip Charles Spooner, Ellen Mary Spooner and Edith Annie (Spooner) North. His brother Harry was also killed in the war.

Cyndie Carman