My Great Great Uncle Leonard Mark Smith was born on 12th July 1895 in Chelmsford, Essex. Son to Arthur Smith and Mary Smith. At the outbreak of war in 1914 he went to his local recruiting office at Warley, Essex and volunteered for the army. Aged 19 he was enlisted with the Essex Regiment 2nd Battalion, based at Warley, Essex. After training, Private 10353 Smith landed in France on 24th March 1915. In March 1918 Leonard found himself at the front line at Arras. The Germans had started a huge counter attack on our forces on the 21st of March and soon made a hole in the allied defences when they over ran the Portuguese forces, this was a dangerous gap in the line and the Essex regiment were charged with filling the gap and holding the line, they valiantly plugged the gap and held off the Germans but were reduced to 80 men, amongst the fatalities was Leonard Smith, killed in action on the 28th March. He has no known grave but is remembered on the Arras Memorial, Pas de Calais in France and on the Chelmsford memorial. He was entitled to the 1914-1915 Star, British war Medal and Victory Medal.
Photo of Leonard Mark Smith