William Sykes

Who was William Sykes?

William Sykes was an English convict, transported to Western Australia for manslaughter.

William Sykes was born in Wentworth, near Rotherham, Yorkshire, England in 1827. As a member of a poor family, he received no formal education, and took on paid work from an early age. In 1851 he was recorded as unmarried and working as a coal-pit trammer. In 1853 Sykes married Myra Wilcock, and over the next ten years they had four children. He was later employed as a puddler.

On 10 October 1865, Sykes went poaching with a group of six other men. Evidence suggests that Sykes had often poached in the past, but he had never been caught before. On this night the men were challenged by a group of gamekeepers, and in making their escape Sykes and a number of other men assaulted one of the gamekeepers. The gamekeeper died from his injuries, and a reward was offered for information about the attack. Eventually, the Government offered a free pardon to anyone willing to give evidence, and this had the desired effect: one of the seven men, Robert Woodhouse, gave evidence against the other six. Four of the men, including Sykes, were found guilty of manslaughter, and sentenced to penal servitude.