Birmingham at the same time as J.R.R. Tolkien|France.|Geoffrey Bache Smith was born in Staffordshire on 18th October 1894. He attended King Edward's School|Saulty|and took part in the Battle of the Somme. He was wounded by shrapnel on 29th November 1916 and died from his wounds on 3rd December 1916.He was buried in Warlincourt Halte British Cemetery|the '3rd Salford Pals'|where they founded the literary "Tea Cup and Barovian Society". Geoffrey was commissioned as a Lieutenant in the 19th (Service) Battalion of the Lancashire Fusiliers