Help researching notable “Smiths” in the Sportsman’s Battalion

[wbremner]

Dear GWF, I could do with some expert help identifying various notable soldiers in the Sportsman’s Battalions with the last name of “Smith”. This is what I have uncovered so far, but it is nether complete nor conclusive.

1. Sydney Leslie Smith (b. 1875, d. 1924)

At the age of 39, Sydney probably enlisted with the battalion when it was raised in September 1914. His brother was the “Rt. Hon. F. E. Smith, M.P.”, also known as the 1st Earl of Birkenhead, who at one time held the position of Lord Chancellor, and was a great friend of Winston Churchill.

In the first issue of the Sportsman’s Gazette, the newspaper of the First Sportsman’s Battalion, dated Dec 22^nd 1914, it is reported that: “the Rt. Hon. F. E. Smith, M.P., visited the camp on Saturday, December 12th, accompanied by his brother, Mr. Harold Smith, M.P. They were shown over the camp by another brother, Private Sydney Smith, who is a member of our own battalion.”

I believe this picture captures the event:

Not long after this, it seems that Sydney Smith was commissioned as an officer in the Second Sportsman’s Battalion (24th Royal Fusiliers), and then later transferred to 18th KRRC. Here is a picture of the officers of the 24th RF, from the Illustrated War News of August 1915, but probably taken in July or earlier. “2nd Lt. S. Smith” is in the back row, first on the left. Although he now has a moustache, I think this is the same soldier in the previous photo of the Smith brothers.

And then these from the London Gazette:

• 24 July 1915. The King's Royal Rifle Corps. 18th Battalion (Arts and Crafts). Temporary Second Lieutenant Sydney Smith, from 24th Battalion (2nd Sportsman's), The Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment), to be temporary Second Lieutenant.
• 10 March 1916. The King's Royal Rifle Corps. Temporary Captain Sydney Smith, from a Service Battalion, to be temporary Captain.

John Campbell, in his book "F.E. Smith, First Earl of Birkenhead", states that Captain Sydney Smith "the black sheep of the family" died in a Midhurst hospital of injuries sustained during WWI. Various other sources, including this summary, corroborate his death in 1924. I don't have the book, so I don't know why we he was considered the black sheep, perhaps it was because he started as a Private!

Lastly, back in 2011, a member of this forum was looking for his great grandfather “Sydney Smith”, who died of a head wound in 1924. I believe this may be the same man.

Or is it? I can’t find much in the way of military records to confirm this either way.

2. Frederick Sydney Leslie Smith (b. 1897, d. 1966)

Was the son of Sydney Leslie Smith, above. Various non-military records such as the Census of 1911 confirm this. I believe Frederick also joined the First Sportsman’s Battalion, possibly at the same time as his father, even though he was 17 at the time. It looks like he may have followed a very similar path to that his father, to the extent that they almost appear to be the same person!

Again, from the London Gazette:

• 12 July 1915. The King's Royal Rifle Corps. 18th Battalion (Arts and Crafts)— The undermentioned to be temporary Second Lieutenants: — Frederick. S. L. Smith, from 24th Battalion (2^nd Sportsman's), The Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment).
• 24 July 1915. The King's Royal Rifle Corps. 18th Battalion (Arts and Crafts)— The undermentioned temporary Second Lieutenants to be temporary Lieutenants: — Frederick S. L. Smith.

Frederick then appears to have been transferred to the Irish Guards. Once again, from the Gazette:

• 3 March 1916. FOOT GUARDS. Irish Guards. Frederick Sydney Leslie Smith, from temporary Lieutenant, The King's Royal Rifle Corps, to be Second Lieutenant.
• 3 July 1916. The undermentioned 2nd Lieuts. (on probation) are confirmed in their rank: — FOOT GUARDS. I. Gs.— F. S. L. Smith
• 18 October 1916. FOOT GUABDS. I. Gds.—The undermentioned 2nd Lts. to be Lts. F. S. L. Smith. (Substituted for the notification in the Gazette of 27th Oct. 1916.)

The same Frederick Smith is then, it seems, mentioned in The Irish Guards in the Great War, by Rudyard Kipling:

26th July 1918. M.C. to Lieutenant Frederick Sydney Leslie Smith, 2nd Battalion, Irish Guards: “For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. Whilst in process of relief the enemy broke through on his right. Promptly realising the situation, this officer formed a defensive flank, supervising the placing of his men under heavy machine-gun fire.”

Can this chain (son of Sydney Smith à enlisted in same battalion as father à also transferred to 18/KRRC à then transferred to Irish Guards à then awarded MC) be proven?

3. “S. Smith”

This one is a source of some head scratching. He’s mentioned in a January 1915 newspaper article as enlisting in one of the Sportsman’s Battalions, but it does not say which. It just reads

“S. Smith, formerly champion runner, has enlisted”.

He also appears, according to the caption but unidentified, in the following photograph of the First Sportsman’s, probably taken sometime not long after the battalion was formed:

The caption reads “Some members of the Sportsmen Battalion having a sing around a piano. Most of the soldiers pictured are county cricketers but there is also C R Little, the Canadian baseball player, R B Day the professional runner, S Smith, spring champion and Dave Fenton, champion walker.”

Through Ancestry and other sources I have been able to trace Little, Day, and Fenton, and some of the other cricketers in the photo, but “S. Smith” remains an enigma. I suppose he could be Sydney (1), but my instinct says not, and none of the chaps in the piano photo resemble Sydney (1) as far as I can tell.

Who was “champion runner” S. Smith, and what is a “spring champion”?

4. F. E. Smith

This one is a great deal easier. He’s not F E Smith the brother of Sydney Leslie Smith (1) mentioned earlier, but actually Frank Earnest “Surrey” Smith, the cricketer. He played for Surrey, MCC, and England, and in later life was an umpire. At the age of 42, Pte. Smith also enlisted not long after the First Sportsman’s was formed, went to France with the battalion in November 1915, returned home in April 1916, and was discharged from the battalion’s reserve unit, the 30^th Royal Fusiliers, in August 1916.

Here’s a picture of “Surrey” Smith as cricketer. Can anyone connect him to the soldiers in the photo “having a sing around a piano”?

Matching Smiths in the Nominal Roll.

There are 30 Smiths in the Nominal Roll of the 23rd Battalion Royal Fusiliers (First Sportsman’s). Once the obvious ones have been eliminated (first name, date of enlistment, etc), I think, but I am not sure, that these are the remaining Smiths:

Spts/22 – S. Smith. Could this be Sydney Leslie Smith?

Spts/60 – F. S. L. Smith. Is this Frederick Sydney Leslie Smith, son of Spts/22?

Spts/330 – S.W. Smith. Sydney Walter, a furniture dealer from Peckham. Possibly a red herring, so to speak?

Spts/354 – F. E. Smith. Frank Ernest “Surrey” Smith, the cricketer?

Spts/1220 – S. Smith. Stephen Smith, a dentist from Scotland. The “S. Smith” spring champion runner?

I'll finish by thanking anyone in advance who can plug any of the gaps or confirm the above information.

And a fun fact for those of you who have made it this far. The 1st Earl of Birkenhead, F E Smith the MP, was portrayed by Nigel Davenport in the 1984 movie "Chariots of Fire". in addition to all of his achievements in law and politics, and in addition to possessing a devastatingly brilliant mind (along with a prodigious capacity for alcohol), Smith mentored the 1924 Olympic team! There's a superb article on him and Churchill here.

Cheers!

William

[wbremner]

Adding to my notes above, some additional thoughts on SL and FSL Smith's connections to the 18th KRRC (Arts and Crafts) battalion.

• 18/KRRC was started 4th June 1915 by Major Sir Herbert Raphael.
• Raphael, a millionaire banker and MP, enlisted with the 2nd Sportsman's (24/RF) in February 1915.
• 18/KRRC was formed at Gidea Park, in Romford.
• Gidea Park was a location associated with Raphael (he may have owned part of it), and also the 2nd Sportsman's (the 24/RF HQ was at Hare Hall Camp).
• 24/RF left Romford for Clipstone Camp in June 1915.
• In July 1915, both SL Smith and FSL Smith joined 18 KRRC as officers.

One possible conclusion is that the Smith son/father duo had connections with Raphael, MP via FE Smith, MP. Raphael was almost certainly looking for officers when 18/KRRC was raised.

There are some past GWF discussions on 18/KRRC and Raphael that I will include here:

• KRRC 18th Battalion (Arts & Crafts)
• 18th King's Royal Rifle Corps
• 18th Battalion, Kings Royal Rifle Corps

• 18th Battalion King's Royal Rifle Corps

[MBrockway]

18/KRRC went overseas on 02 May 1916.

There's a nominal roll of the officers of the battalion at embarkation - no Smiths mentioned at all.

No mention of any officers called Smith pre-embrakation in the 18th Battalion War Record in the 1916 KRRC Chronicle, which covers the history of the battalion from formation in June 1915 to end 1916.

There's a list of the original officers as at 05 Jul 1916, but you already know your men joined shortly after that. No Smiths there either.

Sadly the War Diary was only begun on arrival in theatre with nothing in detail covering the battalion's build up in Blighty when your men would have been in the unit.

[MBrockway]

Adding to my notes above, some additional thoughts on SL and FSL Smith's connections to the 18th KRRC (Arts and Crafts) battalion.

• 18/KRRC was started 4th June 1915 by Major Sir Herbert Raphael.
• Raphael, a millionaire banker and MP, enlisted with the 2nd Sportsman's (24/RF) in February 1915.
• 18/KRRC was formed at Gidea Park, in Romford.
• Gidea Park was a location associated with Raphael (he may have owned part of it), and also the 2nd Sportsman's (the 24/RF HQ was at Hare Hall Camp).

One possible conclusion is that the Smith son/father duo had connections with Raphael, MP via FE Smith, MP. Raphael was almost certainly looking for officers when 18/KRRC was raised.

Gidea Park was part of Raphael's estate.

Raphael was a prominent Liberal, whereas the Smiths were Tories. That wouldn't necessarily rule out enlistment into the Sportsmans' and then Arts & Crafts battalions through political relationships though.

[MBrockway]

Apologies - I don't have the 1924 KRRC Chronicle, so no chance to check for an obituary.

[wbremner]

18/KRRC went overseas on 02 May 1916.

There's a nominal roll of the officers of the battalion at embarkation - no Smiths mentioned at all.

No mention of any officers called Smith pre-embrakation in the 18th Battalion War Record in the 1916 KRRC Chronicle, which covers the history of the battalion from formation in June 1915 to end 1916.

There's a list of the original officers as at 05 Jul 1916, but you already know your men joined shortly after that. No Smiths there either.

Sadly the War Diary was only begun on arrival in theatre with nothing in detail covering the battalion's build up in Blighty when your men would have been in the unit.

Thanks for that, MBrockway. I have just purchased a postcard on eBay with the officers of the 18/KRRC, including Major H. Raphael, and Capt. S. Smith (the latter visually confirmed by a descendant). When that arrives I will scan and post in case it provides any other clues.

[MBrockway]

Did you buy it from Andrew Read? (bugeye)

If so I have a 'backburner' project ongoing to ID the officers in the image and publish a key.

Grateful of any help!

[wbremner]

Gidea Park was part of Raphael's estate.

Thanks. I recently learned via this article, that Hare Hall was not owned by him, however:

Hare hall was owned by the Castellans. I had thought it belonged to Raphael.

[wbremner]

Did you buy it from Andrew Read? (bugeye)

If so I have a 'backburner' project ongoing to ID the officers in the image and publish a key.

Grateful of any help!

I did. Here's the image with A. Read's watermark. I will rescan and post when I get it.

S. Smith is seated in the front row, bottom left. This has been confirmed by his great-grand-daughter. I have also asked if she can spot FSL Smith in the picture.

Raphael is next to him, as you probably know already.

[wbremner]

Did you buy it from Andrew Read? (bugeye)

If so I have a 'backburner' project ongoing to ID the officers in the image and publish a key.

Grateful of any help!

Smith's descendant is "pretty sure" that her grandfather F.S.L. Smith, the son of S. Smith, is the in the second row, on the far right, standing.

The setting, presumably, is Gidea Hall.

Is it me, or does the chap at the back on the left have his arm in some sort of sling contraption?

[MBrockway]

Looks like there could be some interesting material on Gidea Park in WW1 in Havering Library.

See this catalogue entry ...

https://arena.yourlondonlibrary.net/web/havering/results?search_query=gidea+ww1

At various times the KRRC, the Sportsman's Battalion and the Artist's Rifles all had connections to Gidea Hall and nearby Hare Hall in the area of Raphael's Gidea Park estate.

Let us know if you are able to get to visit the stacks in Havering Library and have a nose through this interesting miscellany!

[MBrockway]

Is it me, or does the chap at the back on the left have his arm in some sort of sling contraption?

Yes - I spotted that too. I took it for the standard up-market leather sling used for supporting an injured arm.

[wbremner]

Looks like there could be some interesting material on Gidea Park in WW1 in Havering Library.

See this catalogue entry ...

https://arena.yourlondonlibrary.net/web/havering/results?p_p_id=crDetailWicket_WAR_arenaportlets&p_p_lifecycle=1&p_p_state=normal&p_p_mode=view&p_p_col_id=column-2&p_p_col_pos=2&p_p_col_count=6&_crDetailWicket_WAR_arenaportlets__wu=%2FcrDetailWicket%2F%3Fwicket%3Ainterface%3D%3A7%3ArecordPanel%3Atabs-container%3Atabs%3A1%3Alink%3A%3AILinkListener%3A%3A

At various times the KRRC, the Sportsman's Battalion and the Artist's Rifles all had connections to Gidea Hall and nearby Hare Hall in the area of Raphael's Gidea Park estate.

Let us know if you are able to get to visit the stacks in Havering Library and have a nose through this interesting miscellany!

MB - That link goes nowhere ... can you test and re-post pls?

[MBrockway]

MB - That link goes nowhere ... can you test and re-post pls?

Try this version

https://arena.yourlondonlibrary.net/web/havering/results?search_query=gidea+ww1

[MBrockway]

Thanks. I recently learned via this article, that Hare Hall was not owned by him, however:

Hare hall was owned by the Castellans. I had thought it belonged to Raphael.

Quite correct! Though Raphael purchased land around Hare Hall to protect access to the new Gidea Park station from the planned garden suburb.

Here are some useful and comprehensive notes I transcribed from the Essex volume of the VCH some time ago.

"The Gidea Park garden suburb, built in 1910–11, was the most notable development in Romford up to that time. In 1897 the Gidea Hall estate, containing some 480 a., had been bought by (Sir) Herbert Raphael, (Bt.) (1859–1924), of Rose Court, Havering, who earlier in that year had narrowly failed in his second attempt to secure election as Liberal M.P. for the Romford division. He gave a strip on the western edge of the estate for a public park, opened in 1904. On the eastern side of the estate 90 a. were already occupied by Romford golf club, which he had founded in 1894. In 1910 Raphael joined with two other Liberal M.P.s, Charles McCurdy and (Sir) Tudor Walters, to form Gidea Park Ltd., for the purpose of building a garden suburb on the remainder of the Gidea Hall estate. Gidea Park Ltd. had close links with the Hampstead Garden Suburb Co., in which Raphael, McCurdy, and Tudor Walters were all shareholders. As originally planned Gidea Park garden suburb was to occupy about a square mile, extending east to Gallows Corner, and north to the present Rise Park. The company arranged with the Great Eastern Railway for the building of Squirrels Heath (now Gidea Park) station, and bought an additional 60 a. land, south of Main Road, to control access to it.

Gidea Park Ltd. offered to sell building plots or completed houses, to design houses for purchasers' requirements, and to provide 100 per cent mortgages. The foundation stone of the garden suburb was laid in 1910. The designs of the first houses were open to competition, and about 100 architects entered, including such well-known men as Barry Parker and (Sir) Raymond Unwin, M. H. Baillie Scott, T. Gordon Jackson, Philip Tilden, and Clough WilliamsEllis. By the following year 140 houses had been built. The first part of the suburb was laid out around Gidea Hall, between Raphael Park and Heath Drive. Most of the area south of Main Road was not formally included in the suburb, but a few houses were also built there, in Balgores Lane and adjoining roads. Nearly all the houses were detached. The competition was restricted to 'small houses' of 4 bedrooms, costing £500, and 3-bedroom 'cottages', costing £375. Stress was laid on convenient and labour-saving plans. Many of the houses were in Tudor styles, roughcast, colour-washed, or sometimes half-timbered. The area was well landscaped, and the plots were of good size. There was a separate town planning competition for future development.

The Gidea Park garden suburb was not completed as planned. Eastern Avenue, the arterial road built in the 1920s, cut across the northern side of it. In 1934 Gidea Park Ltd. held another competition in an attempt to sell more building plots. By that time Gidea Hall had been demolished. A small area east of the golf course had been laid out as Links Avenue and Hockley Drive. The golf course itself had been considerably enlarged, and a sports ground had been made adjoining Gallows Corner. Most of the plots offered for sale were along Eastern Avenue. Nearly 500 designs were entered for the competition, and 35 houses were built in Brook Road and the adjoining part of Eastern Avenue. The houses were divided into 5 classes, with prices ranging from £650 to £1,475. Those in the two cheapest classes were semi-detached. All were in contemporary styles, some being built of concrete, and most with flat roofs. In promoting the competition Gidea Park Ltd., though stressing architectural innovation, had abandoned the garden suburb idea, and their original town planning designs, referring always to the Gidea Park Estate, and proposing ribbon development along Eastern Avenue. Most of that development did not, however, take place, and there has been little building on the estate since 1934.

By the 1930s the area immediately south of the garden suburb was being rapidly built up, and the name Gidea Park was adopted for a ward of the town, comprising the area round the railway station. Some of the new building was by Gidea Park Ltd., which in 1934 was offering flats to let in Geddy Court, Hare Hall Lane, a large 4-storey block near the station. It was, however, in the north of the town that Romford's main development took place between the two world wars. Collier Row had been growing slowly since c. 1900, but was still largely rural until 1929, when 80 a. were released for building. By 1939 more than half the area of the ward had been built up, the peak year being 1937, when some 1,500 house plans were passed. Romford's leading developer between the two world wars was Thomas England (d. 1960), who had started his business career as an assistant in a local chemist's shop."

And further detail on Hare Hall from the same source ...

"Hare Hall, Upper Brentwood Road, Gidea Park, now part of the Royal Liberty school, stands on the site of an earlier house called Goodwins. It is a small Palladian mansion built in 1768–9 by John A. Wallenger to designs by James Paine. The main, north front is of five bays, with a rusticated basement storey, above which the two upper storeys are unified by a giant attached portico and pilasters at the angles. Attached to the south front by short corridors there were pavilions containing service rooms. The principal rooms were on the first floor, and were approached by a central staircase with curved ends and an iron balustrade. The main front was of Portland stone, but the south front was of red brick, and in 1896 the house was considerably enlarged on that side by filling in the space between the pavilions. The Royal Liberty school was opened at Hare Hall in 1921, and in 1929–30 new red-brick buildings were erected to the south of the old house, forming a quadrangle. Nothing remains of the landscape designed by Richard Woods in 1771."

IIRC there's a good entry on Hare Hall in Pevsner, but my copy's in the loft at the moment!

[wbremner]

Did you buy it from Andrew Read? (bugeye)

If so I have a 'backburner' project ongoing to ID the officers in the image and publish a key.

Grateful of any help!

MB, attached is a fresher scan of the postcard. Do you have any thoughts as to the date of the photograph?

[MBrockway]

Did you buy it from Andrew Read? (bugeye)

If so I have a 'backburner' project ongoing to ID the officers in the image and publish a key.

Grateful of any help!

Andy has just published a version of this 18/KRRC officer group at Gidea Park .... complete with a key of names! Christmas come early for me - LOL!

See this post here

[MBrockway]

I've taken the liberty of re-posting your larger image with the info from Andy Pay's key of names added

[This picture owned by William Bremner (Pal @wbremner) who purchased same from Andrew Read hence the watermark - please do not reproduce without getting permission from William]

Back row:
2/Lt J. Alpine^A;
Lt. P.G. Sadd^A; KiA as Major, 18/KRRC at Flers - 15 Sep 1916

3rd Row:
Lt. J.E. Raphael (arm in sling. Sir Herbert Raphael's cousin - see here and here);

DoW on 11 Jun 1917 from wounds sustained on 07 Jun 1917 at Messines while attached as ADC to Maj.-Gen. Lawford, GOC 41st Div,  18/KRCC was in 41st Div.

Notice also he is wearing cap badge and collar dogs of the Duke of Wellington's (West Riding) Regiment.  He was formally transferred into the KRRC effective 04 Nov 1915, but I suspect he may have been with 18/KRRC at Gidea Hall earlier than this, so I shy away from using this to date the photo.  He was posted to the General List as ADC to the divisional commander effective 18 Nov 1915.

Lt. W. Alpine^A (sic - 1916 KRRC Chronicle has 'W. Moore Alpine');
Lt. J. Usborne;  transferred to the Royal Engineers and promoted Captain effective 27 Oct 1915 and ended the war as Lt.-Col.
2/Lt. C. Robinson^A;

2nd Row:
2/Lt. F.C. Taylor; KiA as Captain, 13/KRRC - 22 Aug 1918

2/Lt. A.W. Ingham;
Capt. & Quartermaster W.B. Stuart;
2/Lt. L. de Lisle;
2/Lt. R. Pennell^A (joined btn. 05 Jul 1915, which helps date the photograph - 18/KRRC left Gidea Park in October 1915) - see Topic linked to his name;
Lt. L.M. Myers^A;
Lt. E.S.L. Smith (sic - actually FSL Smith);

Front row:
Capt. S. Smith;
Major Sir Herbert Raphael, Bart.. MP;
Lt.-Col. N.A.K. Burne, Indian Army (retired);
Capt. & Adjutant E. Morris;
Capt. R. Scott-Colby

^AEmbarked to France & Flanders with 18/KRRC on 02 May 1916

Edited 29 March , 2020 by MBrockway
Additional info

[wbremner]

Thanks, MB! Great stuff. Here's the re-scanned picture in large format, minus the watermark. WB

[MBrockway]

Yes - I spotted that too. I took it for the standard up-market leather sling used for supporting an injured arm.

.... and I've just realised also that Lt John Raphael is not wearing the KRRC 'cherry' corded boss cap badge, but the cap badge and collar dogs of another regiment - possibly the Duke of Wellington's (West Riding) Regiment from which he had been attached to the KRRs?

Too busy studying the sling to notice the glaringly obvious!

[janeryan99]

Hello , I’m not sure if this will be of any use but a picture of Sidney Smith ( my G Grandfather )  has just come to hand . I’m not at all sure of his uniform here so any information greatly appreciated, Jane 

[PRC]

Cap and collar badges would appear to be Royal Fusiliers. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Fusiliers

Cheers
Peter

[janeryan99]

Thanks Peter