East Hanningfield Archive

Sydney Body according to the 1939 survey was a "chemist and opthalmic". The Bodys lived at Kilchurn, Bicknacre Road.

Sydney Francis Body was born on 13 December 1881 in Nebraska! By the 1901 Census he was living in Eastbourne as a lodger and was already a Chemist. He married May Lambshead at Totnes in 1908. May was born at Paignton 31 May 1882. Their first son Leslie Charles was born 19 April 1910, their daughter Audrey May in 1913 and their second son Geoffrey Deller 30 June 1917.

Leslie married Jean A Ruthven in 1937 at Chelsea. In 1939 they were living at Kilchurn.

Audrey married in 1935, Osmond Grant Dorey BSC of Chelmsford son of Mr and Mrs PF Dorey of St Peter Port Guernsey.

Geoffrey died on 18 December 1944 whilst on a sortie to the Ruhr when he was involved in a midair collision. He was a flight lieutenant stationed at RAF Station Melbourne Yorkshire in the No.4 Bomber Command of the RAF Volunteer Reserve. His plane came down at Rocroi, Departement des Ardennes, Champagne-Ardennes. He is commemorated at the Runnymede memorial.

In the 1960s there were 5 Body's Chemists in Chelmsford and the Southend area.