Name
Wilfred Smith
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
Not Researched
UK & Other Memorials
Walkern War Memorial, Not on the Baldock memorials
Pre War
Wilfred was the son of Reuben & Rosanna Smith of High Street, Walkern.
Wartime Service
On the 24th 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 25th 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. He is buried in the Perth Cemetery (China Wall), Zillebeke, Belgium.
Additional Information
www.stevenageatwar.com
Acknowledgments
Paul Johnson
