Current Information:

Born-Highgate

Railway Dugouts Burial Ground, Belgium

On 24th December, 1916, 24th London of 142 Brigade, 47th Division, moved into the front line in front of Railway Dugouts in the Ypres salient. They were still there on 1st January, 1917 and on the morning of that day a newly arrived artillery battery opened fire on the German front line opposite. This led to the inevitable retaliation which took the form of a trench mortar bombardment of 24th London’s lines in the afternoon and an artillery barrage in the evening all of which did considerable damage to the Londoner’s trenches and killed nine men with a further eight wounded. One of those killed was Arthur Smith.