Leonard Taylor Sykes was born on November 27, 1918, in Woodrow, Assiniboia Census Division, Saskatchewan, Canada. He was the son of Taylor and Maria Elenor (née Dorcas) Sykes of Fort Benton, Montana, USA [father born in North Dakota, USA; mother born in Canada]; husband of Theresa Sykes of Shelby, Montana.

A meat cutter by trade, residing in Shelby, Montana, USA, he enlisted in the RCAF on May 27, 1942, in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. He was Killed in Action on July 5, 1942, when his Handley Page Halifax BIII (#LV970) aircraft, with crew members of seven, was participating in a night air operation over the rail yards at Villeneuve St. Georges, France. It failed to return to base following the operation and was found to have crashed in France, taking the lives of the entire crew.
The seven airmen who perished in this crash were-
RAF Flying Officer Colin Francis WILSON,
RCAF Flying Officer Philip Nairn Thompson VAN ALSTYNE,
RCAF Flying Officer Leonard Taylor SYKES,
RCAF Pilot Officer Alexander Gunn SINCLAIR,
RCAF Flying Officer Lawrence Francis O'BRIEN,
RCAF Pilot Officer Donald MORE and
RCAF Pilot Officer John Alexander BUCKHAM.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com