Eric Sykes was the son of James Sykes, solicitor, of Dungarth, Southgate, Honley, a founder of Armitage Sykes, Solicitors of Huddersfield. His mother was Emma Amelia Turner and he was born on 1st October, 1894 in Magdale. He attended the Leys School Cambridge in 1908 at the age of 14. He won the School Leaving Scholarship which he subsequently turned down in favour of someone less fortunate.

On leaving school, Eric Sykes entered Gonville and Caius College, University of Cambridge, in October, 1913 where he read History. In 1914, he joined the University Officer Training Corps and then gained a commission in the Duke of Wellington’s (West Riding Regiment) as a second lieutenant on 20th November that year. He went on to be promoted to temporary Captain in 1916.

After being invalided back to Britain in September, 1916, he returned to France in March 1917, once again as lieutenant. The 2/5th Battalion war diary records that just before 3.45am on 3rd May, 1917, the battalion moved forward to attack the Hindenburg Line, west of Bullecourt during the Battle of Arras. Although the infantry assault had been planned for 20th April, it was delayed a number of times and finally set for the early morning of 3rd May.

Eric Sykes’ company and others suffered from heavy shell, rifle and machine gun fire and just after dawn he was reported missing along with several of his fellow officers and men. He was recorded as killed in action.

Edgar Sheard, who began work at Armitage Sykes in 1916 as a junior clerk, wrote in his history of the firm:

The first matter I remember was the loss of Mr. Sykes’ eldest son in the terrible casualties of the battle of the Somme. The dreadful news of the death of Eric T. Sykes came to Mr. James Sykes at the office one afternoon. I knew Mr. Sykes and Eric from my days at Moorbottom Congregational Chapel and Sunday School and, although I was only 15 years old my sympathy went out to Mr. James Sykes and the family. Eric was, I believe, a brilliant young man with a splendid career before him, but, like thousands of others, the very flower of British manhood, he had to die.

James Sykes died in Eastbourne shortly after the war, on 3rd February, 1921, at the age of 55, having never got over the death of his son.