Pte Harry Stanley Smith, 3228, 1/5th Lincs Regiment, who is a Luton man, is one of the few English men who in the great war have been singled out for distinction by our great French ally. He is now lying in Woburn Abbey Hospital, wounded for the third time, and on Thursday [November 18th, 1915] he received the Croix de Guerre from France.

In forwarding the decoration, Major H. J. F. Croxby, the officer commanding the 1/5th Lincolns Administrative Centre at Grimsby, wrote: "I have much pleasure in forwarding the Croix de Guerre which has been awarded to you by the French Government, and I heartily congratulate you on the distinction which has been conferred upon you."

Pte Smith's home is at 164 Leagrave Road, Luton. He is the son of Mrs Emily Winifred Tooke and is 22 years old. Naturally, his mother and his wife Maud are extremely delighted at the honour which has been conferred upon him.

It is the third time that Pte Smith (pictured) has been wounded. He joined the Lincolns last November, and went out to France early in 1915. Twice he was in hospital in France with slight wounds, and once with dysentery, and then in the battle of Loos he received such extensive wounds that he is not yet able to walk about.

Before the Lincolns went into battle they were marching practically from early morning till midnight. Then, although the men were so exhausted that they dropped where they were and slept, there was a call for volunteers to fetch rations, and Pte Smith was one of those who went a considerable distance and carried a big burden of necessaries.

In the fight he got shot through the left shoulder, his left hip was damaged by shrapnel, and he also had a facial wound near the mouth. In that state he walked four miles until he found a dressing station, and there he was patched up and sent to Woburn. Gangrene had set in when he arrived at Woburn.

He has been under two operations and is slowly recovering, but is still in the stage in which he has to be wheeled about the Abbey grounds, as he cannot even sit up. It is feared that he will never recover the full use of his arm.

When his decoration arrived on Thursday, Col the Duke of Bedford and the Duchess went to congratulate and shake hands with him. His wife and mother went over on Sunday to see him.

Pte Smith was born in London and was living there with his mother and step-father John in 1911. The family moved to Luton, where Harry married Maud Bradbury in the summer of 1913.

[Luton News: Thursday, November 25th, 1915]