Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

An interesting group of three awarded to Private S. Smith, East Kent Regiment, who was captured and taken Prisoner of War on 23 April 1915, and after being held in Germany for 18 months was one of the ‘Petits Blessés’ who was interned in neutral Switzerland for the remainder of the War

1914-15 Star (G-239 Pte. S. Smith. E. Kent R.); British War and Victory Medals (G-239 Pte. S. Smith. E. Kent R.) good very fine (3) £100-£140

Sydney Smith was born in St. Leonards, Sussex, on 26 May 1895 and attested for the East Kent Regiment at Canterbury on 17 August 1914. He served with the 2nd Battalion during the Great War on the Western Front from 14 April 1915, and was captured and taken Prisoner of War on 23 April 1915. Held for the next 18 months at Gottingen P.O.W. Camp, Germany, he was one of the ‘Petits Blessés’ (most likely suffering from TB) who was transferred for internment in neutral Switzerland, arriving in Leysin on 13 August 1916. Whilst in Switzerland he was visited by his mother, and, having made a full recovery, married a Leysin local on 2 December 1918. Returning with his bride to the U.K., he was transferred to Class ‘Z’ Reserve on 7 March 1919.

Sold with a copy of Stand To!, the Journal of the Western Front Association, No. 117 (February 2020), which contains a lengthy article on the recipient and his wartime experiences; and copied research.