Bertie Smart
Memorial: South Gloucestershire war dead not on a local memorial
Regiment: Somerset Light Infantry
Medals: 1914–15 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal
Rank and number: Private 10526
Parents: George and Alice Smart
Home address: 9 Burchells Green Road, Two Mile Hill, Kingswood, Bristol
Pre-war occupation: Coal Miner
Date of birth: 31/03/1888
Place of birth: St. George, Bristol
Date of death: 23/09/1915
Buried/Commemorated at: Buried at Rue-Petillon Military Cemetery, Fleurbaix, Pas de Calais, France. Not commemorated on a local memorial.
Age: 27
Further information:
Bertie was born in St. George, Bristol, the son of a coal miner and one of seven brothers. He worked as a bootmaker after leaving school at the age of 12, then joined the Navy in 1906 when he was 18. At the time he was described as 5' 5 ½ " with dark brown hair, blue eyes and a fresh complexion. After serving for just a year, he left the service and by 1911 had joined his father in the mines.
Bertie’s battalion (the 7th Battalion, Somerset Light Infantry) landed in France in July 1915 and fought in various battles on the Western Front as part of the 20th Light Division. One of their first engagements was the Battle of Loos (25th September – 8th October 1915) and Bertie was killed in action on the first day during a subsidiary action named ‘The Attack towards Fromelles’. The Battle of Loos was a German victory which resulted in 59,000 allied casualties and during the war, the cemetery where Bertie is buried was adjacent to a dressing station, where he would have been taken when he fell.
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.ancestry.co.uk/
https://www.findmypast.co.uk/
https://www.forces-war-records.co.uk/