SMITH, James Charles
| Service Number: | 1916 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 28th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Sale, Gippsland, Victoria, Australia, date not yet discovered |
| Home Town: | Sale, Gippsland, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | Pneumonia, Tidworth Military Hospital, United Kingdom, 30 December 1916, age not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Tidworth Military Cemetery, England Grave C. 233. Personal Inscription OUR BELOVED ONLY SON AT REST PEACE PERFECT PEACE Inscription presently [May 2021] shows his name as James Charles Smith., Tidworth Military Cemetery, Tidworth, Wiltshire, England, United Kingdom |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour |
World War 1 Service
| 16 Aug 1916: | Involvement Private, 1916, 37th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '17' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: RMS Orontes embarkation_ship_number: '' public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 16 Aug 1916: | Embarked Private, 1916, 37th Infantry Battalion, RMS Orontes, Melbourne | |
| 26 Sep 1916: | Involvement Private, 1916, 28th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '16' embarkation_place: Fremantle embarkation_ship: HMAT Surada embarkation_ship_number: A52 public_note: '' | |
| 26 Sep 1916: | Embarked Private, 1916, 28th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Surada, Fremantle |
Help us honour James Charles Smith's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Geoffrey Gillon
Next of kin-Mother - Mrs Catherine Smith of 4 Preston Street, Preston, Victoria, sometime of 70, Cramer St. Preston, Victoria.
His father, James Charles Smith appears to have deserted his family.
Enlistment date 6 March 1916
Rank on enlistment Private.
37th Battalion, 2nd Reinforcement
Unit embarked from Melbourne, Victoria, on board RMS Orontes on 16 August 1916-he was 26 at this date.
Unit from Nominal Roll-28th Battalion.
There is more than one record of his attestation.
On June 21st 1915, under Service Number 2001, he stated his name to be James Charles Smith-the same as his father who appears to have deserted his family-although he described his mother who was dependent on him as a widow.
On June 26th 1916-or possibly March 6th 1916, under Service Number 330222 [scored through and changed to 1916], he stated his name to be Charles Henry Smith.
The form relating to the pension granted to his mother shows his name as James Charles Smith [enlisted as Charles Henry Smith Service Number 1916]
There is a Statutory Declaration in the name of Charles Henry Smith stating that he attested as the same on 6th March 1916 and that is his true name.
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