Lieutenant Arthur Leonard SMITH - 2 Maritime AA Regt Royal Artillery

Hello, the Luitenant Arthur Leonard SMITH MC (147455) fought at the 317Th Bde Royal Field Artillery in 1918/1919 in Belgium in my village. I am trying to trace his story and I found on his grave that he had also fought during WW2 at the 2 Maritime AA Regt Royal Artillery. Then named Major. I am looking for any information/ documents and photography. Thank you! Ruddy

 

SMITH, ARTHUR LEONARD
Lieutenant
Service Number 147455
Died 18/01/1947
Aged 56
2 Maritime A.A. Regt.
Royal Artillery
M C, Mentioned in Despatches
Son of William and Agnes Smith; husband of Helen Mona Smith, of Gosforth, Newcastle-on-Tyne.
Buried at GOSFORTH (HOLLYWOOD AVENUE) CEMETERY
Location: Northumberland, United Kingdom
Cemetery/memorial reference: Sec. A. Grave 97.

(From Findagrave)

 

Many thanks Ramacal!
I'm mostly trying to find his picture to put a face to this person. I studied his unit's war diary during WW1. One person told me that he lived in Athol Gardens (Whitley Bay) in 1940.

 

I'm rubbish at finding where he lived. Other Forum Members are brilliant doing this.

If you are very interested in researching him, I recommend you apply for his service records. You can apply from the MOD for £30. You can do this with no relationship to the casualty. (Childrens names are normally redacted)

I can't find out yet when he was awarded his MC and MID. Maybe they were awarded in WW1.

 

He had two children, Vigny and Denley. Did they have children? I asked a Whitley Bay site the question but did not receive an answer....

 

Probate records show that Arthur Leonard Smith, died 18 January 1947, left his estate to widow Helen Mona Smith....... and on death in 1947 he lived at The Dene, Allendale, Northumberland.
Paul

 

1939 REGISTER
14 Athol Gardens, Whitley Bay U.D., Northumberland

Name - DOB - Occupation - Marital status
Arthur L Smith - 04 Oct 1890 - Timber & Plywood Expert - Married
Helen M Smith - 19 Mar 1889 - Unpaid Domestic Duties - Married
Leonard D Smith - 23 Jul 1925 - At School - Single

 

Marriages Jun 1917
Smith, Arthur L - Denley - Gateshead - 10a 1399
Denley, Helen M - Smith - Gateshead - 10a 1399

Children:

Smith, Kathleen V - Denley - Castle W - Mar 1920
[
SUPPLEMENT TO THE LONDON GAZETTE, 29 JUNE, 1948

WOMEN'S AUXILIARY AIR FORCE. -
" G " BRANCH.
Appointment to commission.

As Section Officers, extended service • (three years
on the active list and two years on the reserve)*:—
20th May 1948.
Kathleen Vigny SMITH (5891) (seniority 7th Apr. 1943)
]

Smith, Leonard D - Denley - Tynemouth - Sep 1925
[
NAME: Leonard D Smith
SPOUSE: Brenda Armstrong
MARRIAGE: Oct 1950 - Northumberland West

NAME: Leonard Denley Smith
BIRTH: 23 Jul 1925
DEATH: Nov 1987 - Northumberland North
]

 

First name ............Arthur Leonard
Last name.............Smith
Year......................1919
London Gazette ref ...........LG: 31119/11 Jan 1919 (c)
Rank.....................A/Major
Regiment..............D/317 Bde Royal Field Artillery
Medal type............Military Cross, 1914-1918
Decorations...........MC

From the British Campaign, Gallantry & long Service Medals & Awards.

Graham.

 

Thank you for this information!
I found that Kathleen Vigny SMITH is buried in a common grave. She died in 2012.
I think unmarried and childless.
I didn't find Leonard Denley SMITH's grave, nor if he had had children.

 

Lanride, never easy to challenge what someone says is right, especially the OP, but I'd rather question you, be wrong and look a muppet, than not question you and see you maybe miss out on some helpful info......

Are you certain the gravestone is correct?...... if you know definitively without a doubt from an irrefutable source that it is, then I'll skulk away quietly....... but....... there's no mention of her middle name or even just an initial which can be unusual for burials...... and more than that I thought I'd spotted a decent shout for a potential marriage earlier....... right forename, surname and initial.... right age bracket.... right location...... and they did go on to have a couple of kids.

You'd need to order the marriage cert from GRO to be certain..... if it were me it'd be worth £11 to be sure, but only if there was any doubt re the gravestone.

Paul

Name: Kathleen V Smith
Registration Date: Jul 1954
Registration Quarter: Jul-Aug-Sep
Registration district: Northumberland West
Inferred County: Northumberland
Spouse: Ralph V H Kain
Volume Number: 1b
Page Number: 1039

 

Paul, I understand you very well. I myself am lost by so much information that diverges... I found this picture on the Find Grave website. So no certainty for me. I've been looking for more than 4 years and I feel like I'm going in circles. On Arthur Leonard SMITH's grave, it says that his children's names are Vigny and Denley. Then I learn that it is actually Kathleen Vigny and Leonard Denley SMITH :-(

 

Hello, I am happy with the information you have given me. I'm moving on, how do I find Kathleen Vigny and Leonard Denley's children then?

 

Lanride, you say,_

" So no certainty for me. I've been looking for more than 4 years and I feel like I'm going in circles."

Some times in life you don't find the answers you crave. I'm still looking for details on a mystery that extends across 106 years and three generations of family. Lots of people will never ever find the answers. In my case, I still have the occasional need to scratch the proverbial itch and with modern technology and more collections opening up, I live in hope.

 

Assuming that this is 'our' Kathleen:

NAME: Kathleen V Smith
SPOUSE: Ralph V H Kain
MARRIAGE: Jul 1954 - Northumberland West

FreeBMD lists 2 children, including a son Colin, born 1957

My lunatic battle with the idiotic Mr Kain of the Tyne and Wear tax office | Daily Mail Online

Some big assumptions there - but maybe an avenue worth exploring?

 

Ralph Kain seems to be Ralph Vivian Henry Kain, born 1914 in Doncaster, Yorkshire. He is the son of James Henry Rowles Kain (born 1874).
There are several online trees for James & his family on the ancestry website. If you were a member of that site they allow you to send a message to the owners of these & it may get you contact with the family.

 

In the end, I was wrong and Wipbs12 (Paul) was right.
Following your answers and the official documents consulted, Kathleen Vigny SMITH (100 years old and alive?) was married and had two children: KAIN Joanna V in 1956 and KAIN Colin in 1957...

 

Page 643 | Supplement 31119, 10 January 1919 | London Gazette | The Gazette

 

A very brave and courageous soldier.

Graham.

 

He had a busy war. This is from a post on the Great War Forum
The 317th Brigade was a 2nd line Territorial Force unit.

The Brigades origins are the 3rd Northumbrian Brigade RFA who's headquarters were in Seaham on the coast of County Durham. The 2nd line Territorials were formed at the beginning of the war for home defence purposes when the first line units went overseas. The brigade was designated 2/3 Northumbrian Brigade RFA being part of the 2/Northumbrian Divisional Artillery. They were re-designated 317th Brigade RFA when the TF Royal Field Artillery changed from titles to numbers in May 1916.

The 2nd line Northumbrian Brigades were sent to France on July 2nd 1916 to join the 63rd Royal Naval Division, who did not have a designated divisional artillery. The 317th Brigade remained in support of the 63 RND until the end of the war.

The Long Trail has an outline of the RND:

63rd (Royal Naval) Division – The Long, Long Trail

Information on the 2/3 Northumbrian Brigade with their deployments can be found on the Wikipedia page for 2nd (Seaham) Durham Artillery Volunteer Corps

2nd (Seaham) Durham Artillery Volunteer Corps - Wikipedia

The action in the MC citation reads like the first day of the Kaiserschlacht.