Lance corporal Thomas Smith Grenadier Guards

[Guest Nellym]

Through research and luck, have just found my GGG uncle, Thomas Smith. Born 1896, Butt Lane, parish of Audley, Staffs. Enlisted with G. Guards at Stoke on Trent. According to CWGC died 21/11/1916, buried grove town cemetry Meaulte.

According to our local paper, he was wounded in March 1916, 8 months previously??? where were the First battalion Grenadier Guards at that time?? His injuries would have been sustained prior to the Grove town casulty clearing station being insitu, with casualties from the Somme??. So if wounded in March, why wasn't he sent home or is it more likely that he was injured during the Somme offensive, please help I'm new to this and a little bit bewildered thanks NellyM

[Chris_Baker]

Hello Nellym, welcome to the forum

I have no doubt someone will tell us where the GG were in March 1916, but let me offer a few words on the two dates.

There are a number of possibilities.

1. The newspaper report is wrong. Unlikely but there are plenty of instances of it.

2. His wound in March was not sufficiently serious for him to be sent back to UK, and was treated in France. This was not at all uncommon. For instance this week I studied a chap who was hit by shrapnel. He spent two days at a Field Ambulance and then a fortnight in a base hospital on the coast. He then moved for four weeks into a convalscent camp, and back out to his unit.

3. His wound in March was serious, he was sent back to UK, recovered and had recently arrived in time to be clobbered again on the Somme.

[Bob Coulson]

1st Grenadier Guards suffered over 600 total casualties on the Somme in September 1916 in actions around Ginchy and Lesboeufs.

Could be an area worth looking at.?

Bob.