SPRATTON LOCAL HISTORY SOCIETY


Private John William SMITH (6942)

1st Battalion, Northamptonshire Regiment 6942


John William was born on 3 August 1896 in Teeton, the son of John Samuel Smith, an agricultural labourer from a long-established family in Spratton, and his wife Sarah Ann, and brother of Alfred, Mabel, Florence and Sarah. By 1901 the family had moved to Spratton and in 1911 when John was 15 he was living in the High street with his widowed mother and siblings and working as an errand boy. Later they moved to the cottages called Spring Gardens on Middle Turn, now the Brixworth Road.  Both John and his brother Alfred served in the First World War.

John William enlisted in 1914 aged 18 and was immediately posted to the Western Front with the Northamptonshire Regiment. He served in the battles of Le Cateau, Marne and the Aisne and fought in the retreat from Mons.  In October 1914 he was reported missing at La Bassee and was later presumed dead.  In April 1915 he was finally officially confirmed as dead. He was 18 years of age and was entitled to the 1914 Star, the British War Medal and the Victory Medal.

John was one of the first Spratton men to be killed in the war. His name is on the Menin Gate in Ypres but not on the Spratton War Memorial. However, his name has been recorded on the Roll of Honour in St Andrew’s Church, Spratton.

Menin Gate, Ypres, Belgium
Menin Gate, Ypres, Belgium
Menin Gate, Ypres, Belgium
Menin Gate, Ypres, Belgium
The name of J Smith 6942 on the Menin Gate, Ypres, Belgium, the memorial to those who have no known grave
The name of J Smith 6942 on the Menin Gate, Ypres, Belgium, the memorial to those who have no known grave
The name of J Smith 6942 on the Menin Gate, Ypres, Belgium, the memorial to those who have no known grave
The name of J Smith 6942 on the Menin Gate, Ypres, Belgium, the memorial to those who have no known grave