Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Andrew William SMITH

Military Cross

'For conspicuous gallantry near Le Catelet, on 1st October 1918. As battalion scout and intelligence officer, he commanded a patrol of four men, which reconnoitred the country to the east of the St. Quentin Canal Tunnel under heavy machine gun and shell fire. The information gained from this reconnaissance was of great value, and enabled his battalion to occupy a position of great importance with very slight casualties.

It also cleared up an obscure and difficult situation on the flank of the Brigade. Throughout the whole action his coolness and utter disregard of danger set a splendid example to all the ranks.'

Recommendation: Lte-Col W. McNicoll Commanding the 10th Brigade – 3rd Division.

Commonwealth of Australia Gazette                  17 June 1919 on page 1011 at position 84

The Bendigonian reported in February 1918 the following news on the Smith Brothers who had departed Eaglehawk some years earlier.

‘Eaglehawk residents who remember Mr. J. S. Smith, as curator of Canterbury Park, Eaglehawk, will be interested to know the part which his two sons, Andrew and Archie, have been playing in the war.

The first rapidly gained promotion, and is now lieutenant. The second-named lad joined the 5th Battalion early in the war,

was through the landing at Gallipoli, Lone Pine and Cape Helles, where he was invalided home from severe shell shock. Subsequently he was again in hospital suffering from trench feet, and his father, who now resides at Richmond, received word of his having been awarded a Military Medal,

with the following account of how it was won :—

"The decorations to those below commissioned rank in the A.I.F. are well and truly earned before they are awarded, and never was a medal more richly deserved.[1]

Andrew Smith enlisted in Melbourne on July 15, 1915. The Australian Expedition Force was locked in a do-or-die battle on the cliffs of the Dardanelles Peninsula and news was just surfacing that the campaign was not going according to plan.

Andrew was twenty three years of age, married and working as a clerk. He would be accepted as ‘Non Commissioned Officer’ in the rank of Sergeant and go into Officer school training at the Seymour camp just a week later.

He would be assigned to the 37th battalion in training at the Broadmeadows camp and after an extended delay embark for in June 1916. The 37th Battalion was formed, as part of the 10th Brigade of the 3rd Australian Division, in February 1916 at Seymour with recruits drawn from Melbourne, north-east Victoria and Gippsland.

More training in England on the Salisbury Plain awaited Andrew on arrival at training camp there. They would leave for France in late November 1916 and fight their first major battle at Messines, in Belgium, in early June 1917. He would be promoted to Second Lieutenant in the January and then Lieutenant in May 1917.

The battalion fought in another two major attacks in this sector - the battle of Broodseinde on 4 October, and the disastrous battle of Passchendaele on 12 October. Belgium remained the focus of the 37th Battalion's activities for the next five months, until it was rushed south to France in late March 1918 to meet the German Army's Spring Offensive. [2]

Andrew would be sent back to England to assist training new troops however, he would return in early September 1918 for some major battles that would break the German resolve to continue with the war. His brave action at Le Catelet would be the one of last engagements of the war for all Australian forces on the western front.

SERVICE DETAILS: 

Regimental No. 82

Place of birth: Eaglehawk, 1894

Religion: Baptist

Occupation: Clerk

Address: Alphington, Victoria

Marital status: Married

Age at enlistment: 23

Next of kin:                  Wife, Mrs Eliza T Smith, 'Bonnie Doon', Yarra Street, Alphington, Victoria

Enlistment date: 14 July 1915

Unit name: 37th Battalion, Headquarters & 38th Battalion

Embarked: HMAT A34 Persic on 3 June 1916

Final Rank: Lieutenant

Fate: Returned to Australia 30 April 1919

Gallantry near Le Catelet, on 1st October 1918.

Le Catelet and Govy, were two fortified villages in the Hindenburg Main Line of defence, east of Saint Quentin.   These villages figured largely in the gallant effort of the American and Australian troops on 29 September 1918. The units chiefly concerned were the 27th and 30th American Divisions and the 3rd and 5th Australian Divisions.This was achieved despite the 3rd and 5th divisions being extremely weak in numbers, and during the previous few days had suffered loses of 1065 and 1508 casualties respectively.[3]

[1] Bendigonian (Bendigo, Vic. : 1914 - 1918)  Thu 21 Feb 1918  Page 4

[2] https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/U51477
[3] Australians on the Western Front 1918 – Vol 2 David W. Cameron, Penguin / Viking. P. 442