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Captain Lewis Wilberforce GOLDSMITH, Yorkshire Regt, 7th Battalion
1895 - 5th November 1916

Lewis Goldsmith, born in Lee, South London, was the eldest son of Francis Thomas and
Mary Honor Goldsmith whose home in Foots Cray Lane was known as "St. Leonard's. All
their other children: Janet Mary, Edward and Humphrey Hugh, were born in Foots Cray. In
1911, the family employed a governess plus two female servants to help with the running
of the household.

This successful architect, (who after the war designed and oversaw the Foots Cray War
Memorial) had an office in Grays Inn, near London's High Court.

Lewis was first educated at Merton Court Preparatory School, Sidcup followed by the
exclusive private education establishment of King's School in Canterbury. He was a keen
rower and enthusiastic rugby player, being selected for School's Rugby XV in 1913. Lewis
was also a member of their Officer Training Corps.

When war was declared Lewis Goldsmith had just enrolled at the prestigious St. John's
College, Oxford, but because of his strong sense of duty to his country and the Empire, he
decided to apply for a commission in the Army and was gazetted as a 2nd Lieutenant in the
Yorkshire Regiment and by September 1914 he had been promoted to Lieutenant.

Lewis obviously enjoyed the military life and in April 1915 he was promoted to Temporary
Captain, and with a mixture of excitement and anticipation he sailed with his Regiment for
France on 13th July 1915.

Although his Unit saw considerable action on the first day of the Battle of the Somme in
July 1916, he was extremely fortunate to be one of the very few officers in the Battalion not
to be either killed or wounded during that most dreadful and calamitous day for the British
Army.

Captain Goldsmith, although only just 21-years-of-age, continued to be a leader, setting a
high example to his men and fellow officers and was involved in actions with his Battalion
throughout the summer in some of the many Somme battles. However, on 5th November
1916, perhaps feeling just too confident in his ability to survive in whatever situation he
found himself, his luck ran out.

The Battalion received orders to carry out a small attack against an enemy trench which
ran up to the edge of the road to Transloy. Captain Goldsmith was unfortunately injured
and was being carried on a stretcher by some of his men who tried to get him out of the
enemies sites to a place of safety when he was struck and killed by machine gun fire, which
also tragically killed three of the stretcher bearers. It was thought by an eyewitness that
this had been a deliberate act by the Germans.

Captain Goldsmith, like most other Officers at the time, wisely left a Will which was made
in favour for the sum of £492 to his wealthy father.

In Memoriam: Remembered on Thiepval Memorial, Belgium

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