‘D’ Battery, 186th Brigade, Royal Field Artillery
Ivor Claudius Smith was one of seven children born to William and Harriet Smith of Nailsworth. Both his parents were born locally. Ivor was born in 1897 and baptised at St George’s Church Nailsworth on 2 January 1898. William was a gardener.
At the time of the 1901 Census, the family were living at Tanner’s Piece, Nailsworth.
By 1911, the family had moved to Box Lane, Minchinhampton. William was a jobbing gardener. Ivor, now 13, was an apprentice wool sorter. His older sister, Frances a dress maker and nine-year-old Harold was at school.
There are no surviving service records for Ivor. However, the UK Silver War Badge records state that Ivor enlisted with the Royal Field Artillery (RFA) on 15 November 1915 and was discharged as wounded on 13 February 1919, aged 22.
There is an entry in the Pension Ledger records which states that Ivor sustained a gunshot wound to the left thigh and lost his left eye. I have looked at the War Diary for the 186th Howitzer Brigade and found a list of casualties for the 15 December 1917 which includes Ivor and eight others who were wounded (page 48 of the diary on Ancestry). Unfortunately, there is no diary entry for that date. The 186th were in action at Vlamertinghe, Ypres at that time. Whether Ivor sustained both injuries at the same time is not known. I could not find him in any other entry for the 186th.
The Electoral Rolls of 1918/19 and 1920 show Ivor back at Box Lane, Minchinhampton with his brother Wilfred and in 1920 with his parents as well. His younger brother, Harold had died aged just 17 in 1919.
There is joint Pension Ledger record with Ivor’s brother Wilfred Henry Charles Smith. He enlisted with the Navy for 12 years in 1907, serving on the destroyer HMS Martial, which saw action at the Battle of Jutland. He survived the war.
Ivor died on 13 September 1920, age 23; the cause is not recorded in any record I could access. He was buried at Holy Trinity Church, Minchinhampton and has a CWGC headstone. He is commemorated on the Minchinhampton War Memorial.
Researched by Helen Wollington March 2021