Name
Wilfred Smith
2 January 1891
Conflict
First World War
Date of Death / Age
26/10/1917
26
Rank, Service Number & Service Details
Lance Corporal
G/15354
The Queen’s (Royal West Surrey Regiment)
2nd Bn.
Awards: Service Medals/Honour Awards
British War and Victory medals
Cemetery/Memorial: Name/Reference/Country
PERTH CEMETERY (CHINA WALL)
III.B.4.
Belgium
Headstone Inscription
None
UK & Other Memorials
Walkern War Memorial, Not on the Baldock memorials
Pre War
Wilfred Smith was born on 2 January 1891 in Luffenhall, Herts, the son of Reuben and Rosanna (Rose) Smith and was baptised on 19 April 1891 in nearby Cottered, Herts. He was one of eleven children, but three died in infancy.
On the 1891 Census the family were living at Luffenhall, where his father was working as a bricklayer. They had moved to Cottered by 1901 and moved again to High Street, Walkern by 1911, at which time Wilfred was working as farm labourer.
He married Gertrude Page in early 1915 in the Hertford registration district.
Wartime Service
He enlisted in Hertford and joined The Queen's (Royal West Surrey) Regiment, serving with the 2nd Battalion in France, and at some point was promoted to Lance Corporal.
On 24 October 1917 the Battalion relieved the 16th & 17th Sherwood Foresters at Bodmin Copse. The ground conditions were terrible and the Battalion moved into position at night using duckboard walkways. This made progress very slow and the relief was not completed until 1.30am due to the darkness, the fact it was raining and that they had to share the walkways with the outgoing troops. The 25 October was described as “relatively quiet” with the Battalion preparing for an assault the following day on a position known as Lewis House. The attack began at 5.40 am on the 26th and quickly became disorganised due to the fact that most of the Officers and NCO’s had become casualties. It also appears that two lines of troops converged on each other as they reached the objective, increasing the confusion and possibly resulting on troops firing on each other. In total the Battalion suffered 101 casualties during this disastrous attack, one of whom was Wilfred Smith. Death was presumed on or since 26 October 1917. His body having been located at the end of the war, Wilfred is now buried in the Perth Cemetery (China Wall), Zillebeke, Belgium,
Additional Information
His widow, Gertrude, received a war gratuity of £5 10s and pay owing of £4 9s 3d. She also received a pension of 13d 9d a week. Her address on pension records was 'Westfield'. Hatfield, Herts, later changed to Hoopers Hill, Benington, Stevenage. She re-married in 1919 to Sidney Gray.
Acknowledgments
Brenda Palmer
Paul Johnson, www.stevenageatwar.com
