Ralph Lovell Smith

Private, Tank Corps

Age 13, Class IV D: 'A careful boy who uses his brains.'

Ralph Lovell Smith lived at 258 Barry Road, East Dulwich with his older brother, William, and his parents, William and Annie. He was a student at Alleyn’s until 1914 and was employed as a clerk before joining the war effort at the age of 18 in June 1916. After being attested, he was attached to the 3^rd Reserve Calvary Regiment as part of the Army Reserve. He served with the regiment for just over a year before being transferred to the Machine Gun Corps in March 1917. He was transferred again in November 1917, this time to the Royal Berkshire Regiment before ending up in the Tank Corps just two months later. Ralph remained with the Corps until the conflict came to an end in 1918. At the end of the conflict, Ralph had served a total of 2 years and 286 days.