Stephen Smith

Private Stephen Smith 15058, The Queen’s (Royal West Surrey) Regiment

Stephen Smith was born on 11 November 1897 in Crowborough, Sussex. Like thousands of young men of his generation, he answered his country’s call during the First World War, enlisting in The Queen’s (Royal West Surrey) Regiment in January 1916.

His baptism of fire came on the Western Front, where he fought through some of the war’s most brutal battles. On 6 June 1917, during the opening day of the Battle of Messines Ridge, he was struck in the face by a shrapnel ball. The wound was severe enough to send him home to Britain to recover. A portrait taken in Brighton just weeks later still shows the swelling on his face, and on the reverse he wrote:

“Taken in July 1917, aged 19, after I was wounded on June 6th 1917 at the Battle of Messines Ridge.”

The shrapnel ball remained inside him for the rest of his life.

Despite his injuries, Stephen returned to the Western Front, where he was wounded a second time. He rarely spoke of his experiences, but he told his family he had been buried alive three times, dug out twice by his comrades, and remembered trench walkways made from empty bully beef tins because there was so much mud and soldiers had grown sick of eating the same rations.

Stephen was still serving at the front when the guns finally fell silent on 11 November 1918. The Armistice that ended the First World War also happened to be his 21st birthday. He later served with the Army of Occupation in Cologne, Germany, before transferring to the Army Reserve in October 1919.

For his First World War service he received the British War Medal and Victory Medal. During the Second World War he once again answered the call, serving in the Home Guard at Crowborough, earning the Defence Medal for his wartime service.

Stephen passed away peacefully at home in 1984, aged 87, shortly before the Meals on Wheels volunteer arrived with his evening meal. In a touching final tribute, he was buried wearing his regimental blazer, with the shrapnel ball that had nearly taken his life almost seventy years earlier placed in its pocket.

His medals, portrait, and family memories stand as a lasting reminder of one ordinary British soldier who endured extraordinary hardship. Like millions of veterans, he never sought recognition, yet his quiet courage and resilience helped secure the freedoms enjoyed by later generations.