World War 1
Search the known records to date of those lost from the wider Alnwick area in World War 1
Generally showing where they are commemorated, when they died and some basic facts about each person. There are gaps, however, so if you can fill in any missing details do please contact us.
Robert Albert Smith
Forename(s):
Robert Albert
Surname:
Smith
Initial(s):
R A
Service Number:
C/12907
Rank:
Rifleman
Regiment:
King's Royal Rifle Corps, 2nd Battalion
Died:
10/09/1918
Aged:
26
Buried:
Terlincthun British Cemetery, Wilmille
Service History:
Enlisted at Newcastle upon Tyne, Northumberland. (N.B. 'Felton war MemorialÂ…', p.41, suggests Smith enlisted at Alnwick.)
Being a good shot like his parent's neighbour, Thomas Campbell (KIA 21 March 1918), Smith, too, was drafted into the King's Royal Rifle Corps but he joined the regiment's 2nd Battalion. He joined up with his unit in France sometime after the beginning of 1916.
From July to September 1916 the battalion was in action on the Somme battlefields &, until March 1917, held a sector there. During the remainder of 1917 it was in action a little further south, in operations against the German's 'Hindenburg Line', which they referred to as the Siegfriedstellung, & further north, on the Belgian coast & then at Ypres where they remained until March 1918.
From April to September 1918 they held the Cambrin sector, near Bethune. It was during this period that Smith was wounded & sent to one of the Canadian General Hospitals in France. He died there, of wounds received.
(Source: 'Felton War Memorial: The Men behind the names'; Eleanor George [formerly Hall]; 2009; p. 41)
Background:
Known as Albert, born in 1891, at Branxton, Northumberland, the seventh & youngest child of John Smith (b. in Scotland; a Shepherd), by his second wife, Alice Smith (née Thompson).
Although the family lived & worked for many years in North Northumberland, by the outbreak of the First World War they were residing at North Acton & attending Felton Prebyterian Church.
By 1911, Smith had left home to work in Alnwick as a Draper's Assistant. He lodged at 15, Howick Street, Alnwick.
(Source: 'Felton War Memorial: The Men behind the names'; Eleanor George [formerly Hall]; 2009; p. 41)
Local Memorial:
Felton War Memorial incorporating Acton, Eshott, Swarland & Thirston