Benjamin Lamb was born 12 December 1902 the son of William Lamb and Louisa (nee Sands). In 1911 the family was resident at Prince of Wales Row, Buckley: father William; mother Louisa; children – Harold (17); William Robert (15); Wilfred (11); Benjamin  (9); James E. (6); Louisa (3); Violet (0). There would be two further children – Hannah (mother of Barry Smallwood) and Gwendolin.

After the First World War ended the 1st Bn Royal Welsh Fusiliers (RWF) were sent to India for a “tour of duty” in October 1919 when they were based at Lucknow. They were deployed to defend the North West Frontier when the Waziristan Revolt of 1919-1920 was sparked by the Afghan invasion of British India in 1919.

The family knew that B. Lamb was a name included on the Waziristan War Memorial plaque inside St Giles Church Wrexham, which is dedicated to 18 soldiers of the 1st Bn RWF who lost their lives in the Waziristan War between 1920-1923.

Service records found online reveal that Benjamin Lamb of Buckley, Flintshire enlisted in 1920 when he was 17. He died on active service in Ladha, India, of a perforated diabetic ulcer and peritonitis on 5 October 1922. His body was not brought home.

Benjamin is not an official WW1 casualty as recognized by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission because he died after the cut off, 31 August 1921. Almost 100 years after his death, Benjamin is now remembered on a memorial in his home town.

Our contact is Barry Smallwood, whose mother was Hannah, the younger sister to Benjamin. She told Barry that Benjamin went to Wrexham to enrol in the army because he was underage and wanted to enlist, and that he served “abroad”. There is a photo of Benjamin in the possession of the family in which he is in uniform. Hannah felt that Benjamin should have been named on the Hawkesbury Memorial. Wilfred survived the war. Benjamin’s name was added to the Memorial in April 2020.