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Samuel SMITH, Sergeant 3/9663 8th Battalion, Suffolk Regiment, died of wounds at King George's Hospital, London on 19 October 1916. He was buried in Hacheston churchyard on 23rd October 1916. The Hacheston burial record shows him as age 33; the Commonwealth War Graves Commission shows him as 35; his date of birth (16th February 1882) would make him 34. As a regular soldier who enlisted in the Royal Regiment of Artillery on 5th September 1901 he may have lied about his age originally to get accepted for the army; we wonder what his true age was when he died. Samuel was born in Otley, the son of Samuel and Ann(a) Smith, and one of 9 children. The 1901 census shows him as working as an agricultural labourer and boarding with James and Eliza Cobbin in Easton Road, Hacheston. His name appears on both the Otley and Hacheston war memorials.
The following is a link to Samuel's page on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website from where you can download Samuel's Commemorative Certificate.
Samuel's headstone in Hacheston churchyard also includes the name of his brother Lance Corporal William Smith of the 2nd Battalion Suffolk Regiment who was killed in action on the 20th July 1916. William's name appears on the Thiepval memorial in France; he has no known grave.
David Clough and Richard Ginn
Autumn 2017