A birth registration was found for Sydney E G Laffan: Mother's Maiden Surname: Burton; Date of Registration: Jan Feb Mar 1917; Registration district: Lambeth; Registration county: Greater London; Volume Number: 1d; Page Number: 469. Parents: William George Laffan and Matilda Jane Burton, married 1898 Shoreditch, London, England.

In 1928, Sydney W. Laffan, 11, arrived at Fremantle, Australia, in a group of 34 children from the Child Emigration Society, Savoy House, Strand, London. He was placed in Forrest Cottage at the Fairbridge Farm School, Pinjarra, Australia.

Sydney Laffan died June 9, 1930, at the age of 13 at Fairbridge Farm School, Pinjarra, Western Australia. He is buried at Fairbridge Cemetery. The cemetery is located a couple of kilometres past the farm and beyond the second gravel pit. Containing some 24 graves, this is a very secluded and peaceful resting place. The cemetery is well tended.