A Military Medal to the 26th (Service) Battalion; Royal Fusiliers

(228315 Pte J.W. SMITH. 26/(S) BN: R. FUS:). Naming is officially impressed. Replacement ribbon, surface wear, contact marks, lacquered, near very fine.

Footnote: Private J.W. Smith was a native of Colne, Lancashire, England. The 26th (Service) Battalion, Royal Fusiliers was recruited from the banking community. It was raised by the Lord Mayor and City of London from Bank Clerks and Accountants on July 17, 1915. They were first sent to Marlow, Buckinghamshire for training, then to Aldershot, Hampshire in November 1915, where the Battalion joined the 124th Brigade, 41st Division. They landed in France on May 4, 1916, went to Italy in November 1917, before returning to France in March 1918. On the day the armistice was signed on November 11, 1918 between the Allies and Germany (AKA the Armistice of Compiègne after the location in which it was signed) that ended the fighting on the Western Front, the unit itself was located north of Renaix, Belgium. Private J.W. Smith, 26th (Service) Battalion, Royal Fusiliers (228315) was awarded the Military Medal, the announcement appearing in the Supplement to the Edinburgh Gazette 13301 of Thursday, August 8, 1918, page 2842. He survived the war.