George Smith

George appears to have been a mighty demon as standing 5’ 3” high and weighing 11 stones, his record shows that he was often on the charge of refusing to obey orders, but nevertheless he was no shirker from a good fight and was seriously wounded on 22 July 1916. The wound was a “Blighty one” and George was returned to England for treatment but was then returned to duty in 1917 eventually with the 8th Battalion of the Leicestershire Regiment. 21 year old Private Smith’s luck ran out on the 21 March 1918. His Battalion was in the front line when at 4. 40 am, the Germans launched operation Michel using artillery using high explosive and gas shells and employing the forces released from the Eastern front by the Russians leaving the war the previous October. George was reported killed in action. The Leicester Battalions held the Germans that day when many British units were pushed back, and so George Smith made his contribution to the eventual victory later in the same year. George has no known grave but his name appears on th Pozieres Memorial. With both his parents already dead, and he unmarried, it was left to his sister. Sarah Hartley of Forest’s Yard, of Bridge Street, to mourn him. Courtesy of Robert Illett

CWG additional information:- Nephew of Mrs. S. A. Hartley, of 7, Forrests Cottages, Bridge St., Worksop, Notts.