Thomas Smith

The Battalion arrived at Le Havre on the 15/08/1914 and were part of the 13th Brigade, 5th Division. Thomas was Killed in Action on the opening day of the Battle of Cambrai. The Cambrai operations (Battle of Cambrai), 20th November - 30th December 1917 : A British attack, originally conceived as a very large-scale raid, that employed new artillery techniques and massed tanks. Initially very successful with large gains of ground being made, but German reserves brought the advance to a halt. ten days later, a counterattack regained much of the ground. Ultimately a disappointing and costly outcome, but Cambrai is now seen by historians as the blueprint for the successful Hundred Days offensives of 1918. This was the 1st time Tanks had been used successfully. The opening of the Battle of Cambrai on 20 November 1917 is often identified as the first demonstration of the sophisticated techniques and technologies required to effect such a battle. On that day, the British attack broke deeply and quickly into apparently impregnable defences with few casualties. This early result was widely regarded as being a great and spectacular achievement, so positive was it in comparison with the recent ghastly slog to Passchendaele. Thomas is also remembered on the Coats Parish Church Roll of Honour (see photos). See photos for Thomas' Medal Index Card, his Newspaper clipping, his Army Register of Soldiers Effects, his Service Medal and Award Rolls, his CWGC Grave Registration x 2, his Headstone Report, Villers-Plouich Communal Cemetery, Thomas' Pension Record x 3, the King's Own Scottish Borderers Cap Badge and Italian children listening to a Piper of the 2nd Battalion, King's Own Scottish Borderers playing in a Village.