Clifford Smart
Memorial: Kingswood - Holy Trinity Church
Regiment: Devonshire Regiment
Medals: 1914–15 Star, British War Medal, Next of Kin Memorial Plaque 1914 - 1921, Silver War Badge, Victory Medal
Rank and number: Private 31014
Parents: James and Elizabeth Smart
Home address: 100 Soundwell Road, Kingswood
Pre-war occupation: Schoolboy
Date of birth: 1899
Place of birth: Kingswood, Bristol
Date of death: 27/03/1918
Buried/Commemorated at: No known burial site but commemorated at Pozieres Memorial, Somme, France and Kingswood Holy Trinity Memorial
Age: 18
Further information:
2nd Battalion,
Clifford was born and raised in Kingswood the son of a bootmaker and a middle child of eleven children with six sisters and four brothers. Most of Clifford's older siblings of working age were employed in the boot industry. Clifford enlisted in the Army in 1914 when he would have been just 15 years old.
Clifford served with the 2nd Battalion, Devonshire Regiment, his regiment was mobilised to France in December 1914 and took part in various actions on the Western Front including Battles of the Somme and The Battles of Ypres. Clifford was one of 21,000 soldiers initially taken prisoner on the first day of Operation Michael - the German Spring Offensive. Operation Michael lasted 16 days resulting in 255,000 allied casualties and 240,00 German casualties. The operation was classed as a German victory in terms of ground gained. Clifford was initially reported as wounded and missing, then reported as presumed killed in action 6 days later.
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/