John Quinton Smith likeness

John Quinton Smith cap badgePrivate John Quinton Smith

2nd Battalion Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders
Service No: S/14971

John Quinton Smith grave

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Personal details

Family Information

Only son of John and Jessie of 58 King St, Coatbridge. Both parents died before John. His mother a few months before. John's sister inserted his death notice in the Airdrie and Coatbridge Advertiser on the 23/09/1916. From the 1901 Census - Address - 2 Coltswood Rd, Coatbridge - Jessie Smith aged 41, Lizzie Smith aged 9, Carrie Smith aged 7, John Smith aged 4 1/2, John's mothers niece Agnes Thomson aged 18. John's Pension was awarded to his sister Carrie Smith on the 25/03/1917.

Born / Resided

Barony / 58 King St, Coatbridge

Died

Killed in Action on the 27/08/1916 at Longueval, Somme

Enlisted

Glasgow 19/11/1915

Employed

Accountant in Glasgow

Age

19

Buried / Remembered

Thiepval Memorial (Pier and Face 15 A and 16 C), Somme, France

Cemetery / Memorial Information

The memorial commemorates more than 72,000 men of British and South African forces who died in the Somme sector before 20 March 1918 and have no known grave, the majority of whom died during the Somme offensive of 1916. On the high ground overlooking the Somme River in France, where some of the heaviest fighting of the First World War took place, stands the Thiepval Memorial. Towering over 45 metres in height, it dominates the landscape for miles around. It is the largest Commonwealth memorial to the missing in the world. On 1 July 1916, supported by a French attack to the south, 13 divisions of Commonwealth forces launched an offensive on a line from north of Gommecourt to Maricourt. Despite a preliminary bombardment lasting seven days, the German defences were barely touched and the attack met unexpectedly fierce resistance. Losses were catastrophic and with only minimal advances on the southern flank, the initial attack was a failure. In the following weeks, huge resources of manpower and equipment were deployed in an attempt to exploit the modest successes of the first day. However, the German Army resisted tenaciously and repeated attacks and counter attacks meant a major battle for every village, copse and farmhouse gained. At the end of September, Thiepval was finally captured. The village had been an original objective of 1 July.

Additional Information

The Battalion arrived at Boulogne as Lines of Communication troops on the 14/08/1914. On the 22/08/1914 they were part of the 19th Infantry Brigade which was not allocated to a Division. From the 25/11/1915 the Battalion were part of the 98th Brigade, 33rd Division. John was Killed in Action at Longueval, Somme during the Battles of the Somme, 1st July - 18th November 1916: the Somme. A Franco-British offensive that was undertaken after Allied strategic conferences in late 1915, but which changed its nature due to the German attack against the French in the epic Battle of Verdun, which lasted from late February to November. Huge British losses on the first day and a series of fiercely contested steps that became attritional in nature. For all armies on the Western Front it was becoming what the Germans would call "materialschlacht" : a war not of morale, will or even manpower, but of sheer industrial material might. The 15th September 1916 saw the first-ever use of tanks in the step known as the Battle of Flers-Courcelette. The British army in France is now approaching its maximum strength in numbers but is still developing in terms of tactics, technology, command and control. He is also remembered on the Gartsherrie Church Roll of Honour (see photos), in the St. Augustine's Parish (book) Roll of Honour and at the Family Plot in Old Monkland Cemetery (see photos x 2). See photos for John's Medal Index Card, his Army Register of Soldiers Effects, his Service Medal and Award Rolls, his CWGC Grave Registration, his name on the Thiepval Memorial, John's Pension Records x 2 and the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders Cap Badge.

Photos
John Quinton Smith Medal Index CardJohn Quinton Smith newspaper clippingJohn Quinton Smith newspaper clippingJohn Quinton Smith newspaper clippingJohn Quinton Smith remembered at homeJohn Quinton Smith remembered at homeJohn Quinton Smith remembered at homeJohn Quinton Smith remembered at homeJohn Quinton Smith additional photoJohn Quinton Smith additional photoJohn Quinton Smith additional photoJohn Quinton Smith additional photo

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