I have rephrased, and raised a citation need against, the allegation "it is widely believe he was killed" after being sent to serve in World War I. There is nothing in the Commonwealth War Graves Commission's database to support the theory conclusively - they list nine plain John Smarts in the British Army (none in navy or air force), none of them give a family or birthplace background, those that indicate an age seem to be too young to have been the same as this man (ie they were born in mid to later 1890s). Those which don't give an age are:
- Private John Smart, 1st Northamptonshire Regiment, died 3 Nov 1914, on Menin Gate Memorial (ie died in Ypres Salient)
- Lance Corporal John Smart, 8th Northumberland Fusiliers, died 10 Aug 1915, on Cape Helles Memorial (ie died in Dardanelles)
- Lance Corporal John Smart, 8th South Staffordshire Regiment, died 2 July 1916, on Thiepval Memorial (ie died in Somme sector)
- Private John Smart, 8th Gordon Highlanders, died 28 March 1918, on Arras Memorial (ie died in Arras sector)
Cloptonson (talk) 15:50, 3 May 2025 (UTC)Reply
