 Sydney's two sons; Michael and Vanya, joined the British Indian Army and were both stationed in Malaya when the Imperial Japanese Army invaded that country in December 1941.Vanya fought with the 5/14th Punjab Regiment until he was killed in action during the disastrous Battle of Slim River on 7 January 1942.Michael was evacuated from Singapore before its fall as a Japanese speaker, but he was captured in Sumatra where he spent the rest of the war as a prisoner.