SMITH, Ronald Arthur
| Service Numbers: | V240255, VX123576 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 30 December 1941 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | Not yet discovered |
| Born: | Ulverstone, Tasmania, Australia, 2 February 1924 |
| Home Town: | Stawell, Northern Grampians, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Charcoal Burner |
| Died: | Southport, Queensland, Australia, 16 May 1975, aged 51 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Southport Lawn Cemetery, Gold Coast |
| Memorials: |
World War 2 Service
| 30 Dec 1941: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, V240255 | |
|---|---|---|
| 4 Mar 1943: | Discharged Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, V240255 | |
| 5 Mar 1943: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, VX123576 | |
| 19 Mar 1946: | Discharged Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, VX123576 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Chris Buckley
Private Ronald Arthur Smith (Service Nos:V240255/VX123576) served in the ACMF (30 December 1941 - 9 March 1943) with Signals Recruit Training Battalion, and was 'in the field' when he discharged to enlist in the AIF as a Signalman - graded Cook. Private Smith served in New Guinea (3 September 1943 - 4 June 1944), and was attached to L of C Signals (AACC) at Discharge on 19 March 1946. Private Smith was one of seven siblings (Reg, Len, Jack, Allan, Lyle and Max) to serve in WWII.
Ron was born in Ulverstone, Tasmania in 1924, ninth of thirteen children of Percy William Smith (b1884 in Morven, Tasmania) and Florence Louisa Hampton (b1883 in George Town, Tasmania). Percy (a Blacksmith) and Florence married in 1913 in Ulverstone, where they settled and raised their family and Percy was a Blacksmith and Labourer. Percy served in WWI in 1917/1918 (Private; Service No:8057), and in the 1920s he and Florence moved to Melbourne, where Percy worked as a Labourer and Motor Driver.
Ron was working in Stawell, Victoria as a Charcoal Burner in 1940 when he enlisted in the Army. In 1942 in Stawell he married Dorothy Mary Neylan (b1921 in Stawell, Victoria). Ron was Discharged in Brisbane, where he remained and worked as a Labourer - he and Dorothy divorced in 1949. Ron settled at Labrador on the Gold Coast in QLD, where he worked as a Fisherman on Prawn Trawlers and as a Labourer, in the early 1950s marrying Elsie Walker. Ron and Elsie settled in Southport, where they raised their family and Ron worked as a Truck Driver. Elsie died in 1972 and Ron in 1975.