Site Home
This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this site you agree to accept cookies.
If you enjoy this site please consider making a donation.
Great War Home
Search
Add Stories & Photos
Library
Help & FAQs
Features
Allied Army
Day by Day
RFC & RAF
Prisoners of War
War at Sea
Training for War
The Battles
Those Who Served
Hospitals
Civilian Service
Women at War
The War Effort
Central Powers Army
Central Powers Navy
Imperial Air Service
Library
World War Two
Submissions
Add Stories & Photos
Time Capsule
Information
Help & FAQs
Glossary
Our Facebook Page
Volunteering
News
Events
Contact us
Great War Books
About
213476Cpl. Cecil Springett Smith
British Army 12th (Bantams) Suffolk Regiment
from:Edwardstone, Suffolk
Cecil Smith was my maternal grandfather. I have no knowledge of his service history beyond that he was a corporal in the Suffolk Bantams. He had volunteered at the beginning of the war but was rejected as he was only 5ft 6".
He never talked about any combat but when, as a young child, I sat at his knee he told me tales of marching in France. My only real recollection of such tales was one around the fact that he smoked a pipe. Having grown up in the country and worked as a farmhand, thatcher and repairer of farm carts he had learned how to keep his pipe alight by placing a tightly folded green plant leaf, (such as a burdock or thistle) in the top of the bowl. This would keep the tobacco in the bowl and reduce the amount of air getting to it. When the order was given to "stand easy" he would pull the pipe out of his pocket, discard the leaf and give it a couple of hard puffs to get it going again. Apparently on one occasion they paused for a rest break on a route march and, seeing the smoke appear almost instantly the sergeant commented "you got that lit up quick corporal!"
Related Content:
Can you help us to add to our records?
The names and stories on this website have been submitted by their relatives and friends. If your relations are not listed please add their names so that others can read about them
Did your relative live through the Great War? Do you have any photos, newspaper clippings, postcards or letters from that period? Have you researched the names on your local or war memorial?
If so please let us know.
Do you know the location of a Great War "Roll of Honour?"We are very keen to track down these often forgotten documents and obtain photographs and transcriptions of the names recorded so that they will be available for all to remember.
Help us to build a database of information on those who served both at home and abroad so that future generations may learn of their sacrifice.
Celebrate your own Family History
Celebrate by honouring members of your family who served in the Great War both in the forces and at home. We love to hear about the soldiers, but also remember the many who served in support roles, nurses, doctors, land army, muntions workers etc.
Please use our Family History resources to find out more about your relatives. Then please send in a short article, with a photo if possible, so that they can be remembered on these pages.
The free section of The Wartime Memories Project is run by volunteers.
This website is paid for out of our own pockets, library subscriptions and from donations made by visitors. The popularity of the site means that it is far exceeding available resources and we currently have a huge backlog of submissions.
If you are enjoying the site, please consider making a donation, however small to help with the costs of keeping the site running.
Hosted by:
Copyright MCMXCIX - MMXXIV
- All Rights Reserved -We do not permit the use of any content from this website for the training of LLMs or for use in Generative AI, it also may not be scraped for the purpose of creating other websites.