Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Thomas Henry Smith was born at Ballan, Victoria in 1888 to Melville and Diana Smith. His father passed away when he was only about ten years of age. Thomas’s widowed mother, Diana, was living at Nyah, Victoria.

His younger brother, 3928 Pte. Melville Gardiner Smith 8th Battalion AIF, had been killed in action at Pozieres only months before on 25 July 1916, aged 22.

The local paper reported that “Gunner Smith was one of the most popular young men of the Nyah settlement, his good-natured disposition gaining for him many friends. He left Nyah with the first batch of Nyah soldiers, and after a period of training in Broadmeadows sailed for Egypt as a member of the 22nd Infantry Battalion.” He served on Gallipoli from late August 1915, and served there as a machine gunner until invalided back to Egypt about three weeoks before the evacuation. He was taken on strength of the 6th Machine Gun Company during the Pozieres fighting.

Capt. Drummond C.O. 6th Machine Gun Company, gave a statement to the Red Cross on the loss of Thomas Henry Smith, who was initially reported as missing.

“On the night of Nov. 22nd close to Flers a party of British soldiers were lost, and these two boys (246 T.H. Smith and 1298 G. Scott) volunteered to guide them to the front line. It was very dark and the country was very much shell swept. They all reached the front line and then Smith and Scott proceeded on their way back. My unit was relieved that night and I waited until daybreak for the 2 boys. The country over which they passed was very open to enemy rifle fire and it was impossible to send a search party out. I reported them as missing. Sometime later, I received word from the unit in that part of the line , saying that the boys' bodies had been found and buried …. They were buried about 1500 yards North of Flers….”

Leslie Byrnes and Tom Smith left Nyah together, left Australia together, went through the instruction school in Egypt together, and were together at Lone Pine, and afterwards in France and Belgium.

Leslie Byrnes wrote a letter home to his mother in Nyah which was published in the Swan Hill Guardian during January 1917.

“In my last letter (25th November), I told you that Tom Smith was all right. That letter was written the day we came out from the firing line. I had seen Tom the night before and thought that he had come out with us. Poor old Tom. He was killed the morning we were relieved, and I did not know anything about it. He was left behind to guide the gun company that relieved us into the front line. He got the party in alright., but when coming out they got caught in a bombardment. He was to report to one of our officers, and when he did not turn up, they sent someone out to look for him, but they could find no trace of him. They thought perhaps ha had been wounded and picked up by stretcher bearers. They inquired at the dressing stations, but none knew anything of him. When I heard he was missing I tried to find out something thing definite before writing anything about it. The other day his pay book was sent in with the information that his body had been found, and he had been buried decently. He was killed on the morning of the 23rd November the day we were relieved. I am writing to his mother this mail to tell her what I know about it. Roy Louttit and I are about the only ones left in our brigade now of our boys who left together. It is nearly twelve months since we left Anzac. Things have changed since then. There are a terrible lot of old faces missing. I wonder how much longer it is going to last?”

He is listed on the Roll of Honour for Bacchus Marsh, near where he was born and is also listed on the Swan Hill War Memorial as Thomas Smith.

Thomas’s mum, Diana, passed away during 1939, aged 83, and is buried in Nyah, Victoria.