Henry William (Harry) Smith
Memorial: Kingswood - Holy Trinity Church
Regiment: Machine Gun Corps
Medals: 1914–15 Star, British War Medal, Next of Kin Memorial Plaque 1914 - 1921, Silver War Badge, Victory Medal
Rank and number: Private 4857 then 13565
Parents: William Alfred and Julie Smith
Home address: 8 Woodland Terrace, Hanham Road, Kingswood, Bristol
Pre-war occupation: Bootmaker
Date of birth: 1888
Place of birth: Kingswood, Bristol
Date of death: 28/08/1917
Buried/Commemorated at: No known burial site but commemorated at Tyne Cot Memorial, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium and Kingswood Holy Trinity Memorial
Age: 28
Further information:
Harry enlisted in 1914 and served first in the Training Reserve Battalion before joining the 32nd Company, Machine Gun Corps (Infantry) and serving with the 11th Division on the Western Front. Harry lost his life during the Battle of Passchendaele (the third battle of Ypres) which lasted from 31st July to 10th November 1917 and resulted in combined casualties estimated to be around 800,000 for both allies and Germans. Harry's body was never identified and the Tyne Cot Memorial where Harry is commemorated is one of four memorials to the missing in an area of Flanders known as the Ypres Salient, which stretched from Langemarck in the north to the northern edge in Ploegsteert Wood in the south.
By kind permission, this information is based on the following source(s):
This information has been provided by Sarah Hands, Volunteer Researcher for the South Gloucestershire War Memorials Web Site.
By kind permission, this information is based on the following source(s):
https://www.cwgc.org/
https://www.findmypast.co.uk/
https://www.forces-war-records.co.uk/