Personal History
Frederick 1st Bn. Hertfordshire Regiment
George Thomas Spriggs, the fourth of five sons of William and Elizabeth, née Hewson, Spriggs was born on the 12th February 1893 in Lemsford and baptised on the 9th April 1893 at St. John's church, Lemsford. He attended Lemsford School from March 1897 to November 1906 and left to work as a horseman on a local farm.
War Record
Private 266609 George Spriggs enlisted at Hertford giving his address as Wheathampstead and joined the 1st Battalion of the Hertfordshire Regiment. The battalion was involved in the second Battle of Passchendaele, the main aim of which was to capture the higher ground of the Passchendaele Ridge for its strategic importance and also to provide drier winter quarters for the troops. The battle commenced on the the 26th October and lasted until the 6th November 1917 when Canadian troops finally captured what was left of the village of Passchendaele. The Battalion War Diary gives the number of casualties sustained from the 28th October to the 31st October as 6 killed, 1 died of wounds, 1 of gas poisoning, 21 wounded and 9 gassed. George died on the 29th October 1917 aged 24.
War Memorial
He is buried in the Zantvoorde British Cemetery, Zonnebeke,West-Vlaanderen, Belgium reference III E 25. Zonnebeke is a town 8 km south east of Ieper (Ypres) Frederick, his younger brother, was killed on the 11th July 1916 and is buried in the Serre Road Cemetery No. 2. Attended St Johns School March 8th 1897 to November 16 1906.
