Private Arthur Joseph Smith
Arthur Joseph Smith was born on 15 July 1897 in Lambeth, London, the only child of solicitor Arthur Smith and his wife Mary Ann Tomlin Smith (née Hunter). By the time of the 1911 Census he was living at the home of his great aunt at 9 Martell Road, Lambeth, with his mother and a number of other relatives.
Smith was attested for military service at London on 9 December 1915. On 1 November 1916 he was mobilised and posted to the North Irish Horse (No.2301 – later Corps of Hussars No.71746). He embarked for France on 8 April 1917, where he was posted to one of the squadrons of the 1st North Irish Horse Regiment.
The 1st NIH Regiment served as corps cavalry to VII, XIX, then V Corps from its formation in May 1916 until February-March 1918, when it was dismounted and converted to a cyclist unit.
On 16 May 1918 Smith was transferred to the Royal Air Force (No.317362) and posted to the Cadet Distribution Centre at Hampstead before being sent to a training unit. He was graded Flight Cadet on 16 November and nine days later was posted to the Armament School at Uxbridge. On 7 February 1919 he was demobilised and transferred to the RAF's Class G Reserve.
By 1922 Smith was living at 38 Brockswood Lane, Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, and working as a civil servant. On 10 June that year he married stockbroker's daughter Gwendolen Maud Conolly in the Holy Trinity Church, Redhill, Surrey. He worked as manager of advertisements at the Daily Telegraph newspaper from 1939.
Smith died on 6 March 1955 at Garden Cottage, Tewin Water, near Welwyn.
Image sourced from Ancestry.com Public Member Trees - contributor 'astrologybird'