Zestaw brytyjskich nagród za wojnę światową. Szeregowy Frank Smith z Bedfordshire Regiment
Biografia w języku angielskim:
22/06/1896: Frank Smith is born in the Municipal Borough of Eastbourne, county of Sussex, son of John Larry Smith (1860-1931) and Anna Farr (née Jarrett) (1859-1912).
31/03/1901: at 1901 Census, Frank Smith living with parents and older brother, in the Municipal Borough of Bedford, county of Bedfordshire. His father's occupation is given as 'Carpenter'.
Frank Smith attended Ampthill Road Boys' School, Municipal Borough of Bedford, from 29/08/1905 to 13/09/1909. Left Ampthill Road Boys' School to be a 'Furnisher's Errand Boy (Longhurst & Skinner)’.
02/04/1911: at 1911 Census, Frank Smith living with father John, mother Annie, and younger brother, in the Municipal Borough of Bedford, county of Bedfordshire. His occupation is given as ‘Errand boy for a chemist's shop’, his father’s as ‘Carpenter’.
05/09/1914: Frank Smith (giving his trade as ‘shop assistant’) enlists, at Bedford, into the ‘Territorial Force’ (T.F.), namely 5th Battalion (T.F.), ‘The Bedfordshire Regiment’ (‘5th Bedf. R.’); he is immediately ‘embodied’ (i.e. mobilized), signs the ‘Imperial Service Obligation’, and is posted to ‘A’ Company.
5th Bedf. R., was a battalion of the East Midland Infantry Brigade, East Anglian Division.
The ‘Territorial Force’ had been established in 1908 to create an effective and integrated force for home defence, with the old ‘Volunteer Force’ and Yeomanry units now restructured into a new organisation, administratively independent of the Regular Army, and with its own brigade and divisional structure. Although, from 1910, men could volunteer for overseas service in time of conflict (the ‘Imperial Service Obligation’), it soon became evident after the outbreak of war in 1914 that the T.F. would be required to serve overseas in numbers not hitherto envisaged; they would be needed both to fight on the front line, and to garrison the Empire in place of troops of the Regular Army.
By the time that Smith enlisted in September 1914, each infantry battalion of the T.F. had already divided into two, into a 'First Line' (i.e. ‘Foreign Service’) unit and a 'Second Line' (i.e. ‘Home Service’) mirror, with manpower in the 'First Line' unit being brought up to war strength with new recruits who had pledged to serve overseas. From November, 1914, many battalions also started forming 'Third Line' units, to train and provide replacements for the 'First Line' overseas, although in the case of 5th Bedf. R., this was not established till June 1915.
With the declaration of war in 1914, a large percentage of men in the 5th Bedf. R. had already signed, or were willing to sign, the 'Imperial Service Obligation' committing themselves to foreign service, but, nonetheless, a 'Second Line' unit, the ‘5th (Reserve) Battalion (T.F.)’, was formed in September, 1914, from those men unable or unwilling to serve overseas.
From September, 1914, 5th Bedf. R. was stationed at Bury St Edmunds, county of Suffolk, undertaking coastal defence and training duties. In November 1914, the Battalion, hitherto of 8 companies, adopted the 4-company structure of the Regular Army; Smith would now be in 'C' Coy. In January, 1915, designations of first, second and third line T.F. battalions were standardised using the prefix '1/', 2/' or '3/' before the battalion number. From March, 1915, 1/5th Bedf. R. was stationed in Norwich, county of Norfolk. In May 1915, the East Anglian Division received orders for overseas service, and its units, including the 1/5th Bedf. R., were concentrated at St Albans, county of Hertfordshire, for intensive training. In the same month, T.F. formations were numbered, the 1/5th Bedf. R. now being a battalion of the ‘162nd (East Midland) Infantry Brigade’, ‘54th (East Anglian) Division’.
In July 1915, it became clear that the ‘54th (East Anglian) Division’ would become a formation of IX Corps in the 'Mediterranean Expeditionary Force' (M.E.F.). The M.E.F. had been established in March 1915 to coordinate the forces earmarked for operations in the Dardanelles against the Ottoman Empire; IX Corps headquarters was raised in June 1915 in readiness for an amphibious landing planned for Suvla Bay, on the Gallipoli Peninsula.
26/07/1915: 3999 Private Frank Smith, 1/5th Battalion (T.F.), Bedf. R., 162nd (East Midland) Infantry Brigade, 54th (East Anglian) Division, IX Corps, M.E.F., embarks with his Battalion at Devenport, county of Devon, on board the troop transport ship H.M.T. Braemar Castle, bound for Mudros on the Greek island of Lemnos, via Malta and Egypt (Alexandria).
10/08/1915: H.M.T. Braemar Castle arrives Mudros, and is ordered to sail to the British-occupied island of Imbros, arriving the same day.
11/08/1915: H.M.T. Braemar Castle arrives Imbros, and is ordered to sail to Suvla Bay, Gallipoli peninsula, arriving the same day; 1/5th Bedf. R. disembarks.
The purpose of the landing by IX Corps at Suvla Bay was to contribute to the 'August Offensive', the final British attempt to break the deadlock of the Gallipoli Campaign. The landing, which commenced on the night of 06/08/1915, was intended to support a breakout from the A.N.Z.A.C. sector, five miles to the south. The ‘54th (East Anglian) Division’ came ashore 10-11/08/1915, and by nightfall on the 11/08/1915, ten battalions and divisional headquarters had been landed.
Following an unsuccessful offensive to the north and east of the bay along the 'Kiretch Tepe Sirt' ridge, made on 12/08/1915, the decision was made to mount an even stronger attack along the same ridge. Therefore, on 15/08/1915, the 'New Army' men of the 30th and 31st Brigades of the '10th (Irish) Division' attacked along the ridge, with the Territorials of the ‘162nd (East Midland) Brigade’ of the ‘54th (East Anglian) Division’ moving in protective support along the vulnerable right flank of the attack. The 1/5th Bedf. R. had the honour of leading the ‘162nd (East Midland) Brigade’, with 'B' Company on right, 'A' on left, with 'C' & 'D' in support.
The 1/5th's first objective was held in strength by Ottoman troops, and 'A', 'B' and 'C' Companies were ordered to storm the position. The position was soon cleared at the point of the bayonet. Once the first position was secured, the Battalion formed up to take their second objective, the so-called 'Kidney Hill'. However, they immediately came under heavy fire, and it continued as the Battalion crossed a mile of open ground. Following this advance to the top of the hill, under constant shrapnel, enfilading machine-gun, rifle and sniper fire, the Battalion was finally given the order to charge with the bayonet, and the position was won. That night, the Irish brigades, and the Englishmen of the 162nd, dug in to secure the ground taken, and to consolidate after the heavy losses suffered. However, in the early hours of 16/08/1915, the Ottomans launched a heavy counterattack; the Irish brigades were forced to retreat, leaving the Territorials isolated on 'Kidney Hill'; these men retreated that night to plug the gap in the front line, withdrawing back to their original starting line. Over four thousand British troops had been killed over the two days, with no gain in ground. The 1/5th Bedf. R. saw a total of three captains and four lieutenants killed in action, while of the 'Other Ranks', over 300 men were reported as casualties, with those killed in action numbering eight sergeants, three corporals, and 49 Privates.
16/08/1915: 3999 Private Frank Smith, 1/5th Bedf. R., is reported missing, believed killed, but rejoins his Battalion the same day.
On 20/08/1915, 1/5th Bedf. R. went into reserve. A few days later, the Battalion was rested, and then marched to camp at Lala Baba. From dusk to midnight on 28/08/1915, the Battalion marched to A.N.Z.A.C. Cove, and proceeded to the front-line trenches the next day.
28/08/1915: 3999 Private Frank Smith, 1/5th Bedf. R., is wounded at A.N.Z.A.C. Cove, with a gunshot wound to his right arm (shoulder).
01/09/1915: 3999 Private Frank Smith, 1/5th Bedf. R., is admitted to ‘No. 15 Stationary Hospital’ at Mudros, island of Lemnos.
11/09/1915: 3999 Private Frank Smith, 1/5th Bedf. R., is admitted to the 'Convalescent Depôt', Mudros (formed by 'No. 24 Casualty Clearing Station').
12/10/1915: 3999 Private Frank Smith, 1/5th Bedf. R., rejoins his Battalion at Gallipoli.
From 04/09/1915 to 03/12/1915, 1/5th Bedf. R. would vary between trench duty in the front-line, being in support just behind the front-line, being in reserve, or spending time at rest camp. The usual period in the front-line was 5 to 7 days, the Turks trenches often being as little as 15 yards away. In October 1915, with the opening of the Salonika Front in Greece, undertaken by formations of the 'Mediterranean Expeditionary Force', the three corps of the M.E.F. at Gallipoli were designated the 'Dardanelles Army'. By the end of October, 1915, the strength of 1/5th Bedf. R. was only 21 Officers and 235 Other Ranks, and at the beginning of November, the Battalion was reorganised into two companies, Nos. 1 and 2. At the end of November 1915 the ‘54th (East Anglian) Division’ was instructed to evacuate the Gallipoli Peninsula, and on 03/12/1915, orders arrived for the Battalion to embark for Mudros, island of Lemnos, which they did that night. However, it would seem that Smith had already been evacuated from Gallipoli to Egypt, on medical grounds.
05/12/1915: 3999 Private Frank Smith, 1/5th Battalion (T.F.), Bedf. R., 162nd (East Midland) Infantry Brigade, 54th (East Anglian) Division, IX Corps, Dardanelles Army, M.E.F., is admitted to ‘No. 19 General Hospital’, Alexandria, Egypt, suffering from dysentery.
20/12/1915: 3999 Private Frank Smith, 1/5th Bedf. R., is admitted to the 'Convalescent Depôt', Luxor, Egypt.
05/02/1916: 3999 Private Frank Smith, 1/5th Bedf. R., is attached to ‘54 Infantry Base Depôt’, Sidi Bishr, Alexandria, Egypt.
Each infantry division had its own ‘Infantry Base Depôt’ (I.B.D.), where new recruits, and men returning from wounds or injury, were posted for final battle training and ‘toughening up’ before posting to individual battalions of the Division. ‘54 Infantry Base Depôt’ was thus the I.B.D. of the ‘54th (East Anglian) Division’.
10/02/1916: 3999 Private Frank Smith, 1/5th Bedf. R., rejoins his Battalion, at Mena Camp, near Cairo.
The ‘54th (East Anglian) Division’ had been in Egypt since 18/12/1915, having been transported direct from Lemnos. The higher formations of the M.E.F., which had been evacuated to Egypt, were now charged with the defence of the Suez Canal, leaving the existing 'Force in Egypt' (i.e. those British, Dominion, Indian and Egyptian units garrisoning Egypt proper) responsible for the protection of the Western Frontier and internal security, although some lower formations of the M.E.F. did find themselves transferred to the 'Force in Egypt'.
First stationed at Sidi Bishr Camp, Alexandria, the 1/5th Bedf. R. then moved to Damanhur Camp (99 miles north-west of Cairo), back to Sidi Bishr, and on to Mena Camp (10 miles west of Cairo) at the beginning of February, 1916. The ‘54th (East Anglian) Division’ had been detached from IX Corps and the M.E.F. in January 1916, when IX Corps was sent to hold ‘No. 1 Section (Southern)’ of the Suez Canal Defences: the Division was transferred to the 'Force in Egypt', and remained in the vicinity of Cairo as garrison troops.
In March, 1916, the M.E.F. and the 'Force in Egypt' were merged, and renamed the 'Egyptian Expeditionary Force' (E.E.F.). Early in April, 1916, the ‘54th (East Anglian) Division’ rejoined IX Corps on the Suez Canal Defences, and the Battalion entrained for Shalufa, in the ‘Canal Zone’; by the middle of the month the Battalion was at El Kubri, south of Shalufa. During this period, Smith passed the machine-gun (M.G.) course at the 'Imperial School of Instruction', Zeitoun, Cairo, and was subsequently posted to the M.G. section of 1/5th Bedf. R. (the 'Imperial School of Instruction' was a school of technical instruction for Officers and ‘Other Ranks’ of the E.E.F.; in March, 1916, it had incorporated the M.G. school previously established at Ismailia). On 22/04/1916, the headquarters of IX Corps was disbanded in Egypt, and the ‘54th (East Anglian) Division’ took over direct control of ‘No. 1 Section (Southern)’ of the Suez Canal Defences.
The advance into the Sinai began in April, 1916, prompting an Ottoman, German and Austro-Hungarian response, which culminated in British victory at the Battle of Romani in August, 1915. In October, 1916, the British, Dominion, and Imperial troops in the Sinai, plus those remaining at the Suez Canal Defences, were placed within a newly created formation of the E.E.E., to be known as the 'Eastern Frontier Force' (E.F.F.). However, it was not until January, 1917, after more victories in battle for the E.F.F. at the 'Affair of Magdhaba' (23/12/1916) and 'Action of Rafah', (09/01/1917) that the ‘54th (East Anglian) Division’ moved forward from the Suez Canal Defences into the Sinai, taking up position at Romani, by early February the Division was at Kantara, and by the 24/03/1917 was at Sheikh Zowaiid, in preparation for the coming campaign in Palestine.
25/04/1916: 3999 Private Frank Smith, 1/5th Battalion (T.F.), Bedf. R., 162nd (East Midland) Infantry Brigade, 54th (East Anglian) Division, E.E.F., is attached to 162nd Brigade M.G. Company, Machine Gun Corps (Infantry), at El Kubri.
The ‘Machine Gun Corps’ (M.G.C.) had been established in late 1915, its infantry and cavalry branches being formed usually by simply re-badging the machine-gun sections of existing infantry battalions and cavalry regiments, and forming them into permanent ‘Brigade Machine Gun Companies’ or ‘Squadrons’. In the ‘54th (East Anglian) Division’, the Battalion M.G. sections of the 161st (Essex) Brigade and 162nd (East Midland) Brigade formed the 161st and 162nd Brigade M.G. Companies, M.G.C. (Infantry), respectively, in April 1916 (the 163rd (Norfolk & Suffolk) Brigade formed the 16rd Brigade M.G. Company in May 1916).
However, the problem with the establishment of ‘Brigade M.G. Companies’ and ‘Squadrons’ of the M.G.C., in the infantry and Yeomanry formations of the Territorial Force, was that the M.G.C. had been constituted as a Corps of the Regular Army. Thus, unlike machine gun-trained Officers and ‘Other Ranks’ of the Regular Army, who could be compulsorily transferred to the M.G.C., there was initial uncertainty as to the legal status of Officers and Other Ranks of the T.F. serving in these new M.G.C. units. The temporary solution was that T.F. Officers would only be 'seconded' and T.F. Other Ranks 'attached' to the M.G.C., while still belonging to their parent infantry battalions or Yeomanry regiments. This anomaly could not continue, and the administrative solution adopted was for those T.F. ‘Other Ranks’ serving with M.G.C. units, to be officially discharged from the T.F., for the express purpose of enlistment in the Machine Gun Corps, and immediate posting to their existing M.G. companies or squadrons.
03/07/1916: 3999 Private Frank Smith, 1/5th Bedf. R., attached 162nd Brigade M.G. Company, M.G.C.(Infantry), is discharged from the ‘Territorial Force’ for re-enlistment in the M.G.C. (Infantry).
04/07/1916: Frank Smith enlists into the ‘Machine Gun Corps (Infantry)’ of the Regular Army, under a 'Short Service' enlistment ('For the Duration of the War'), and is immediately posted to the 162nd Brigade M.G. Company, M.G.C.(Infantry), at El Kubri.
28/12/1916: 48342 Private Frank Smith, 162nd Brigade M.G. Company, M.G.C.(Infantry), 162nd (East Midland) Infantry Brigade, 54th (East Anglian) Division, E.F.F., E.E.F., is admitted to the Egyptian Government Hospital, Suez, suffering from enteritis.
27/02/1917: 48342 Private Frank Smith, 162nd Brigade M.G. Company, M.G.C.(Infantry), is attached to General Base Depôt, Mustapha, Alexandria.
A ‘General Base Depôt’ (G.B.D.) was similar to an I.B.D. in function, but dealt with troops of units other than infantry battalions.
During the campaign in Palestine, the ‘54th (East Anglian) Division’ participated in the First (26-27/03/1917), Second (17-19/04/1917) and victorious Third (27/10/1917 to 07/11/1917) Battles of Gaza, against the strongly entrenched Ottoman forces in that city. The Division (which in August, 1917, had become a formation of the newly-established XXI Corps within the E.E.F., the E.F.F. being abolished) then took part in the subsequent Jerusalem operations, including the victorious 'Battle of Jaffa' (21-22/12/1917); the 'Battle of Tell 'Asur' (9 miles north of Jerusalam) (8-12/03/1918), during which the 162nd (East Midland) Infantry Brigade saw action at the 'Fight at Ras el'Ain' (12/03/1918); and the 'Action at Berukin' (20 miles east of Jaffa) (9-11/04/1918). During the course of the advance into Palestine, the nature of the fighting changed from trench warfare to open warfare, and then to hill fighting.
17/05/1917: 48342 Private Frank Smith, 162nd Brigade M.G. Company, M.G.C.(Infantry), attached General Base Depôt, Mustapha, is posted to 160th Brigade M.G. Company, M.G.C.(Infantry), 160th (Welsh Border) Brigade, 53rd (Welsh) Division, E.F.F., E.E.F.
It appears Smith was briefly posted to 160th Brigade M.G. Company, which was the M.G. unit of 160th (Welsh Border) Brigade, 53rd (Welsh) Division. Like the 54th, the 53rd Division was a T.F. formation, both having served alongside each other in IX Corps, ‘The Force in Egypt’, and now the E.F.F.
28/05/1917: 48342 Private Frank Smith, 160th Brigade M.G. Company, M.G.C. (Infantry), 160th (Welsh Border) Brigade , 53rd (Welsh) Division, E.F.F., E.E.F., is posted to 162nd Brigade M.G. Company, M.G.C. (Infantry), 162nd (East Midland) Infantry Brigade, 54th (East Anglian) Division, E.F.F., E.E.F.
07/01/1918: 48342 Private Frank Smith, 162nd Brigade M.G. Company, M.G.C. (Infantry), is admitted to 2/1st East Anglian Field Ambulance, Royal Army Medical Corps (T.F.), (R.A.M.C. [T.F.]), suffering from 'Inflammation of the Connective Tissue' (I.C.T.), right arm.
12/01/1918: 48342 Private Frank Smith, 162nd Brigade M.G. Company, M.G.C. (Infantry), is discharged from 2/1st East Anglian Field Ambulance, R.A.M.C. (T.F.), and rejoins his Company.
In early 1918, the decision was taken amalgamate the Brigade M.G. Companies of infantry divisions into single M.G. battalions, which would be designated by the Divisional number. The three M.G. companies of ‘54th (East Anglian) Division’ became the Headquarters and ‘A’, ‘B’, ‘C’ and ‘D’ Companies of the ‘54th Battalion, M.G.C. (Infantry)’, on 19/04/1918.
22/04/1918: 48342 Private Frank Smith, 54th Battalion, M.G.C. (Infantry), 54th (East Anglian) Division, XXI Corps, E.E.F., is appointed Acting Lance-Corporal.
05/05/1918: 48342 Acting Lance-Corporal Frank Smith, 54th Battalion, M.G.C. (Infantry), relinquishes his appointment as Acting Lance-Corporal, on his admittance to 2nd East Anglian Field Ambulance, R.A.M.C. (T.F.), suffering from scabies.
13/05/1918: 48342 Private Frank Smith, 54th Battalion, M.G.C., is discharged from 2nd East Anglian Field Ambulance, R.A.M.C. (T.F.), and rejoins his Battalion.
17/05/1918: 48342 Private Frank Smith, 54th Battalion, M.G.C. (Infantry), is admitted to 2/1st East Anglian Field Ambulance, R.A.M.C. (T.F.), suffering swelling of the left axilla.
09/06/1918: 48342 Private Frank Smith, 54th Battalion, M.G.C. (Infantry), is admitted to ‘No. 36 Stationary Hospital’, Gaza, Palestine, suffering from ‘I.C.T. Multiple’.
At some point after admittance to ‘No. 36 Stationary Hospital’ in Gaza, Smith was evacuated to ‘No. 27 General Hospital’ at Abbassia, Cairo, Egypt.
24/07/1918: 48342 Private Frank Smith, 54th Battalion, M.G.C. (Infantry), is discharged from ‘No. 27 General Hospital’, Abbassia, having suffered from ‘I.C.T. Legs & Hands’, and is admitted the same day to the ‘Command Depôt’ at Abbassia.
A ‘Command Depôt’ was a military convalescent camp for the rehabilitative training of wounded, injured or ill soldiers, who were too fit for a 'Convalescent Depôt', but not yet fit enough to be returned to unit.
25/09/1918: 48342 Private Frank Smith, 54th Battalion, M.G.C. (Infantry), is attached to the ‘Machine Gun Corps Base Depôt’, at Helmia, Cairo, with the medical category 'Class A' (able to march, see to shoot, hear well and stand active service conditions).
19/10/1918: 48342 Private Frank Smith, 54th Battalion, M.G.C. (Infantry), rejoins his Battalion in the field.
In September, 1918, the ‘54th (East Anglian) Division’ took part in the victorious Battle of Sharon (19-23/09/1918), one of the battles of the final Allied Offensive in Palestine that are known as the 'Battles of Megiddo'. After the end of the Battle, the Division concentrated in the Hableh area (24/09/1918), from which it began advancing, through Atlit, to Haifa (28/09/1918), where it fully concentrated on 04/10/1918. The Division was ordered to begin the advance to Beirut on 20/10/1918, which was conducted brigade by brigade, at daylong intervals, via Acre, Ras es Naqura, Tyre, and Sidon. The units of the ‘54th (East Anglian) Division’ concentrated at Beirut between 31/10/1918 and 05/11/1918, the leading elements of the Division marching through Beirut at noon on 31/10/1918 - the very hour that hostilities with the Ottoman Empire ceased as agreed by the Armistice of Mudros, signed the previous day.
Beginning on 28/11/1918, and in the process leaving XXI Corps, the ‘54th (East Anglian) Division’ was transported by sea to El Qantara, on the Suez Canal, from where all units were concentrated in camp at Helmia, Cairo, by 07/12/1918. The Division participated in a march past, in Cairo, in front of General Sir Edmund Allenby, Commander-in-Chief of the E.E.F, on 20/12/1918. The demobilization of the Division began on 06/01/1919, and by 22/05/1919 only six battalions remained, although troops of the Division were called out on active service during this time to quell civil unrest. The ‘Territorial Force’ units of the Division were eventually reduced to cadre strength, and the war-raised units were disbanded: this included the ‘54th Battalion, M.G.C. (Infantry)’, on 14/09/1919. The ‘54th (East Anglian) Division’ finally ceased to exist as a formation when its headquarters were disbanded, in Egypt, on 30/09/1919 (it would be reformed in the United Kingdom in April, 1920, as a formation of the reconstituted T.F., which would be renamed the ‘Territorial Army’ the following year). As the designation for British forces in Egypt, the ‘Egyptian Expeditionary Force’ was long-lived, only being retitled ‘British Troops in Egypt’ in August, 1922.
02/06/1919: 48342 Private Frank Smith, 54th Battalion, M.G.C. (Infantry), is admitted to ‘No. 27 General Hospital’, Abbassia, suffering from malaria.
15/06/1919: 48342 Private Frank Smith, 54th Battalion, M.G.C. (Infantry), is discharged from ‘No. 27 General Hospital’, Abbassia, and enters Demobilisation Camp.
20/06/1919: 48342 Private Frank Smith, 54th Battalion, M.G.C. (Infantry), 54th (East Anglian) Division, E.E.F., embarks at Port Said, bound for the United Kingdom. The character reference, signed by his Commanding Officer, states that Smith, employed as a machine-gunner, had good sobriety, was reliable, intelligent, and noted that "He has made a very capable range-finder".
07/07/1919: 48342 Private Frank Smith, 54th Battalion, M.G.C. (Infantry), attached ‘No. 1 Dispersal Unit, Purfleet’, is granted 28 days final furlough before demobilization.
The ‘Protection Certificate and Certificate of Identity’, issued to Smith before his final furlough, shows that at his most recent machine-gun training course he had qualified as a ‘1st Class Machine-Gunner’; and that his medical category was ‘A1’ (able to march, see to shoot, hear well and stand active service conditions: fit for despatching overseas, as regards physical and mental health, and training). His intended place of residence was the Municipal Borough of Bedford, county of Bedfordshire.
04/08/1919: 48342 Private Frank Smith, 54th Battalion, M.G.C. (Infantry), attached ‘No. 1 Dispersal Unit, Purfleet’ is ‘Disembodied’ on demobilization.
Although Smith had been discharged from the T.F. in 1916, and had enlisted in the Regular Army, when demobilized the T.F. term ‘disembodied’ (in place of ‘discharged’ as used by the Regular Army) was used on his service record by the M.G.C. Record Office. This is common for former T.F. men in the M.G.C. and it seems likely that the need for discharge from the T.F. in order to enlist in the ‘Regular’ M.G.C. was subsequently seen as having been an unnecessary action. A fortnight after Smith’s enlistment into the Regular Army, ‘Army Order 258’ recognised that the M.G.C. could include a T.F. element, meaning a soldier of the T.F. could simply, and legally, be transferred to the M.G.C. In 1917, ‘Army Council Instruction 1758’ made clear that a soldier, if he had first enlisted into the T.F., would be considered a ‘Territorial’, despite any subsequent transfers into ‘Regular’ units. This seems also to have been applied, at demobilization, to those who had been discharged from the T.F. with the sole purpose of enlisting into the M.G.C.
11/03/1921: Frank Smith acknowledges receipt of the ‘1914-15 Star’
29/06/1922: Frank Smith acknowledges receipt of the ‘British War Medal’ and ‘Victory Medal’.
Fourth Quarter, 1923: marriage of Frank Smith to Gladys Mary Winfield (1901-1992) registered in the St Neots Registration District, county of Huntingdonshire.
29/09/1939: on ‘National Registration Day’ of 1939, Frank Smith is living with his wife in the civil parish of Bromham, Hundred of Willey, county of Bedfordshire. His occupation is given as ‘Lamp Manufacturer's Electrician’, and other notes show that he was an ‘Assistant Senior Warden’ in the ‘Air Raid Precautions’ service (A.R.P.).
In 1941 the A.R.P. was retitled the ‘Civil Defence Service’ (C.D.). Those C.D. members who had been awarded three, or more, ‘War Service Chevrons’ (each red chevron denoting 12 months' service in the C.D. since hostilities began on 03/09/1939) became eligible for ‘The Defence Medal’ when instituted in 1945.
Second Quarter, 1977: death of Frank Smith registered in the Bedford Registration District.
March, 1992: death of Gladys Mary Smith registered in the Bedford Registration District.