Stephen Joseph Sykes (1920 - 1957), by unknown photographer, 1944, courtesy of Australian War Memorial. UK1566. .Image Details

SYKES, STEPHEN JOSEPH (1920-1957), air force officer and grazier, was born on 21 April 1920 at Goulburn, New South Wales, son of native-born parents Charles Ignatius Sykes, grazier, and his wife Mona Mary, née Purcell. The family had been on the land since George Sykes, the son of a convict, was granted 100 acres (40 ha) in the early years of local settlement. Educated at Currawang Public School and St Patrick's College, Goulburn, Steve studied woolclassing, worked on the family property, served (1940-41) in a troop of the 7th Light Horse Regiment (Militia), and played tennis.

On 23 May 1942 Sykes enlisted in the Royal Australian Air Force. He trained in New South Wales, embarked for Canada, topped his pilot's course in May 1943 and was commissioned. Promoted flying officer in ...

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Source:

Australian Dictionary of Biography