SMITH, Cyril
| Service Number: | WX7414 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 6 August 1940 |
| Last Rank: | Lance Sergeant |
| Last Unit: | 37th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Yorkshire, England, 13 May 1919 |
| Home Town: | Victoria Park, Victoria Park, Western Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Station Hand |
| Died: | Perth, Western Australia, 15 March 1978, aged 58 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Karrakatta Cemetery & Crematorium, Western Australia |
| Memorials: |
World War 2 Service
| 6 Aug 1940: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Lance Sergeant, WX7414 | |
|---|---|---|
| 3 Jan 1941: | Embarked Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Gunner, WX7414, embarked Fremantle for Middle East on board the Aquitania | |
| 7 Feb 1943: | Embarked Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, WX7414, 37th Infantry Battalion, New Guinea | |
| 20 Feb 1943: | Embarked Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Gunner, WX7414, embarked ME for Fremantle | |
| 7 Feb 1944: | Embarked Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, WX7414, 37th Infantry Battalion, embarked New Guinea for RTA | |
| 23 Apr 1945: | Embarked Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Lance Corporal, WX7414, 37th Infantry Battalion, embarked Townsville for Morotai for service in North Borneo on board the General McRae | |
| 7 Nov 1945: | Embarked Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Lance Sergeant, WX7414, 37th Infantry Battalion, embarked Morotai for Sydney on board the Duntroon | |
| 22 Nov 1945: | Discharged Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Lance Sergeant, WX7414 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Chris Buckley
Lance Sergeant Cyril Smith (Service No:WX7414) enlisted in the AIF on 6 August 1940 as a Gunner with No 2 Depot Battalion Northam. Gunner Smith served in the Middle East with 24 Australian Tank Coy and 3rd Australian Tank Regiment (Tobruk) from January 1941 to February 1943. Posted to 2nd/37th Infantry Battalion, Corporal Smith served in New Guinea (August 1943 to February 1944) and in North Borneo (April to November 1945). Lance Sergeant Smith was attached to 2nd/37th Infantry Battalion at Discharge on 22 November 1945. Father Israel (Private; Service No:W67885) and brother Stan (Private; Service No:W5574) also served in WWII.
Cyril was born in Yorkshire, England in 1919, second of five children of Israel Smith (b1890 in Glasgow, Scotland) and Lillian (Lily) Maud Buck (b1915 in Leeds, Yorkshire). Israel (a Clay Moulder) and Lily (a Domestic Servant) married in 1915 in Leeds, Yorkshire. Israel served in the British Army in 1915/1916 (Private; Regimental No:27913), and was a General Labourer in Leeds in 1922 when he and Lily immigrated with their two sons. The family arrived in Albany, Western Australia on board the Themistocles - Israel gave his occupation as Engine Overhauler - and lived in Busselton, where Israel was a Cartman. In the late 1920s Israel and Lily moved their family to Claremont, where Israel was a Grocer's Assistant before settling in Perth - Israel was a Greengrocer. Following his Discharge from the ACMF, Israel and Lily settled in North Perth, where Israel was a Yardman and Lily a Cook.
Cecil was working as a Station Hand in 1940 when he enlisted in the Army, and in 1944 in Perth married Olive Joy Percy (b1920 in Boulder, Western Australia) - Olive was workng in Perth as a Dressmaker. Following his Discharge from the Army, Cecil joined the WA Police Force as a Consatble, and he and Olive lived in Perth, York and Wiluna. In the mid 1950s Cecil resigned form the Police Force, and he and Olive settled in Wiluna, where Cecil was Overseer on Granite Peak Station for ten years, and then Manager of Earaheedy Station. Cecil died in 1978 and Olive in 2005.
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