Henry Grandfield was born in the spring of 1887, the third of six children to William and Martha Grandfield. William was a bootmaker from the Somerset village of Over Stowey, and it was here that he and Martha raised their family.

Henry found work as a labourer on a local estate when he finished his schooling. When war came to Europe, however, he stepped up to play his part.

Service records for Henry are pretty scarce. He appears to have enlisted in the Royal Field Artillery, but then transferred across to the Tank Corps. Separate research appears to suggest that Lance Corporal Grandfield served in the Eastern Mediterranean, but fell ill.

Suffering from rheumatism he returned to Britain for medical support. Based at Bovington Camp in Dorset, Henry was later admitted to a hospital near Wareham, having contracted pneumonia. This latter condition was to prove too much for his body to bear: he passed away on 1st October 1918, at the age of 31 years old.

The body of Henry Grandfield was taken back to Somerset for burial. He was laid to rest in Over Stowey Cemetery, not far from where his family still lived.

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