Sidney Lewis was tall for his age and looked older than he was. What he was was 12-years-old. He snuck out of his home in August, 1915, and signed up for the British army. Recruiters often enlisted underage men. After all, England did not have a draft and needed as many volunteers as it could enroll. It is estimated that as many as 250,000 under-aged men served in WWI. Lewis was originally in the East Surrey Regiment. In 1916, he participated in the bloody Battle of the Somme. He was in the 106th Machine Gun Company when it fought in the Battle of Delville Woods. This was part of the Somme campaign. Meanwhile, back in England, his parents were searching for him. When a family friend returned from the front, he told Lewis’ mother that he had seen her son in France. Mrs. Lewis brought his birth certificate to the War Department and demanded his release. Sidney was soon home. He was a celebrity in Great Britain as the youngest British soldier in the war. He was awarded the British War Medal and the Victory Medal. He re-enlisted when came of the correct age in 1918 and spent time in occupied Austria. In WWII, he was with a bomb disposal team. Nobody asked for his birth certificate this time.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Youngest_British_soldier_in_World_War_I
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