South Staffordshire War Memorials

Dedicated to the memory of all the men and women of the South Staffordshire area who died during the two World Wars.

Pte Harry Smith, Royal Welsh Fusiliers

Harry Smith was born at The Elms, Stirchley, in about 1884. He was the youngest child of George Smith, an agricultural labourer, and his wife, Ann. By 1901 the family were living in Blymhill.

After leaving school, Harry worked at Blymhill as a farm labourer and later as a waggoner. He was married to Frances.

Harry enlisted at Ironbridge in about June 1916, joining the Monmouthshire Regiment before being transferred to the 2nd Battalion of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers. If he was with the RWF during 1917 he would have seen action during the Arras Offensive, the Third Battles of Ypres and the Somme (1918).

Harry appears to have been killed accidentally on 28 June, 1918, while his battalion was stationed near Englebelmer, to the north of Albert. He is buried at Englebelmer Communal Cemetery.

Private Harry Smith, 54880, 2nd Battalion Royal Welsh Fusiliers (formerly 4467, Monmouthshire Regiment), was awarded the Victory Medal and the British War Medal.

This memorial has mostly been compiled from official sources. It would be good to be able to expand it with more personal material - memories, stories, photos, etc. If you have any suitable material or any corrections please contact Greg.