James William Arthur Sydney Joseph Smith

Story:
James William Arthur Sydney Joseph Smith was born in Nocton, Lincolnshire, in 1897 and baptised there on 30 Jan 1897 the son of Sidney Joseph Smith and Hannah Smith (nee Davenport).  He lived his early life in Nocton and later in Over, Cheshire.  By 1911 the family had moved to Bowers Barn, Iwerne Minster, Dorset.   James has enlisted and joined the 5th Battalion of the Dorsetshire Regiment as a Private (Service No. 11083).  He served in the Balkans from 11 Jul 1915 and later became a Lance Corporal based at 48 CHSS in Dunstable, Bedfordshire.  He was discharged on 26 Feb 1919 and awarded the Victory and British War Medals as well as the 1915 Star.  The 1921 Census shows him boarding in Church Street, Iwerne Minster, Dorset, working as a Gamekeeper. He married Alice Violet Bailey in Barton upon Irwell, Lancashire, in 1925. He died in Whitchurch, Shropshire, on 7 Jan 1978.