Bernard James Smith
He was a crepe twister in 1939.
- Family History
- Military history
- Extra information
- Photographs
He was the son of James and Marian Smith and the brother of Marian and Jessie Smith. In 1921, they lived at 41, Beckenham Road, Radford Nottingham. Bernard was the husband of Annie Smith and they lived at 76, Lindfield Road, Broxtowe, Nottingham in 1939.
According to CWGC, Smith's family noted that Bernard's 'brother Robert also fell'. It has not so far been possible to indentify Robert Smith; he was probably a boy still unnamed in the BMD Index registered at Brentford, like Bernard but a year later (1917), with a mother also surnamed Rowbottom before marriage. This child, however, is absent from the 1921 Census.
There are a few possiblities on CWGC's Debt of Honour Register but no definite match. Perhaps the most likely is Robert Smith killed in Italy 23/9/1944 serving with the Royal Army Service Corps which included RAMC, his brother Bernard Smith's unit.
Smith was lost during the critical opening days of Operation Husky—the massive Allied amphibious invasion of Sicily, which was launched on 10 July 1943. As a transport driver attached to the 15th Casualty Clearing Station, his role was absolutely vital and hazardous. Casualty Clearing Stations (CCS) were positioned just behind the immediate beachheads and front lines to receive, stabilize, and evacuate heavily wounded soldiers. Operating RASC transport vehicles under intense enemy counter-attacks, German strafing runs, and the chaos of the initial amphibious landings, Bernard was killed just three days into the invasion as the medical teams scrambled to establish triage centres on Sicilian soil.
Unknown
No photos