SMITH, Enoch

Enoch Smith was born at Wordsley and his parents lived at Camp Hill. By 1914 he was married and living at 202 Enville Street, Stourbridge. He worked as a blacksmith at Messrs. G. Harrison and was one of the first local men to volunteer at the outbreak of war. He volunteered for the Worcesters and joined the 9th (Service) Battalion along with many Stourbridge men. The battalion joined the 13th Division and were sent in July 1915 to Gallipoli, which was a far cry from the Western Front. Their experiences were frustrating and casualties were high. When they failed to break the stalemate on the peninsula, they were evacuated in December. They did not return to Britain but were sent east to continue the struggle against the Turks in Mesopotamia. Their immediate task was to rescue General Townsend's force besieged at Kut. They arrived in February 1916 and attempted a relief in April. It failed and Townsend's force went into captivity. The next advance was left until cooler weather and the crucial attack on Kut was made by the Worcesters on the 25th January 1917. Kut fell the next day but 107 men had been killed in action. Private Enoch Smith was killed in the advance to Kut on the 19th January and is buried in Amara Cemetery (XX B 23) and commemorated on the Stourbridge and St. Thomas's church Memorials.