Marks Simons was born Marks Simonovitch in Strangeways, Manchester on 9th June 1894. 

He joined the Royal Engineers in February 1916 and served as a Sapper on the Western Front. He was wounded in Arras in May 1917 and was treated for his bullet wound through the shoulder at St Thomas' Military Hospital in London. A magazine published by the hospital during Marks' stay is included in this collection. 

Marks' daughter Doreen Jacobs currently lives in Whitefield, North Manchester, and still owns all of these original documents belonging to her father, and keeps them in the same wallet he kept them in during the First World War. 

It is thanks to Doreen that we have been able to digitise these documents and create this collection, which contains not only Marks' service papers and certificates, but also his prayer book, which was distributed to all soldiers and sailors who identified themselves as Jewish, and his pay book for use on active service, which each soldier will have carried with them.