SMITH, Charles William
| Service Number: | 183 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 3rd Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Redfern, New South Wales, Australia, 20 March 1891 |
| Home Town: | Randwick, Randwick, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Tram Conductor |
| Died: | Died of wounds, France, 11 May 1916, aged 25 years |
| Cemetery: |
Merville Communal Cemetery, France |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Haymarket NSW Government Railway and Tramway Honour Board |
World War 1 Service
| 20 Oct 1914: | Involvement Private, 183, 3rd Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '7' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Euripides embarkation_ship_number: A14 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 20 Oct 1914: | Embarked Private, 183, 3rd Infantry Battalion, HMAT Euripides, Sydney | |
| 4 Dec 1915: | Wounded AIF WW1, Private, 183, 3rd Infantry Battalion, ANZAC / Gallipoli, Bomb wound to right arm. Evacuated to hospital ship 'Aberdonian', then to 'Tagus". Transferred to No. 1 Auxiliary Hospital at Cairo. | |
| 10 May 1916: | Wounded AIF WW1, Private, 183, 3rd Infantry Battalion, Gunshot to his abdomen. Admitted to 1st Australian Field Ambulance,then 7th Casualty Clearing Station where he died of his wounds the next day. |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by John Oakes
Charles William SMITH (Service Number 183) was born on 20th March 1891 at Redfern.
He was orphaned at age 14 or 15 and brought up in a home in Randwick.
He first worked for the NSW Tramways as a casual conductor in Sydney from 23rd August 1912. He became permanent in March 1913. He was released from duty to join the Expeditionary Forces on 8th September 1914.
Smith enlisted at Sydney a couple of weeks later, describing himself as a ‘tramway employée’. He gave no next of kin, simply writing on his Attestation Papers, ‘I know of no one living’. He did claim to have been apprenticed for five years to Theo Reilly on the Macleay River, though did not specify the trade. He also had military experience as a member of the 1st Reserve Rifle Club.
He was allotted to the 3rd Battalion. Smith embarked HMAT ‘Euripides’ at Sydney on 20th October 1914 and sailed to Egypt. He underwent further training until he embarked ‘Derfflinger’ at Alexandria on 5th April 1915 to join the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force for the landing on Gallipoli on 25th April.
He was admitted to hospital on 24th June (though no reason is given).
In September he was transferred to the advance base on Mudros (on the Greek island of Lemnos) for dental treatment at the 3rd Australian General Hospital. He returned to Gallipoli.
On 4th December 1915 he received a bomb wound to his right arm. This led to his evacuation to the Hospital Ship ‘Aberdonian’ and then the ‘Tagus’. He was transferred to the No. 1 Auxiliary Hospital at Cairo. He was not released for duty until 21st January 1916, re-joining the 3rd Battalion at Tel-el-Kebir on 5 February.
On 22nd March he embarked HT ‘Grampian’ at Alexandria for passage to join the British Expeditionary Force on the Western Front in France, passing through Marseilles on 28th March.
On 10th May 1916 he was wounded with a gunshot to his abdomen and admitted to the 1st Australian Field Ambulance and then the 7th Casualty Clearing Station. He died of his wounds the next day, 11th May 1916. He was buried in the Merville Communal Cemetery, Dunkirk, by Rev H G Tigar.
Smith left his estate to John C Roylance of Randwick. John Roylance responded to an enquiry from the military authorities seeking blood relations:
‘All I can say is that I am next of kin to the above deceased soldier. He was an orphan. I brought him up, my home was his home. He had no other relations. When he grew up and got employment, he always helped me to keep my home going.’
Service medals of deceased soldiers and other mementoes were generally issued to blood relations, not governed by nomination of next of kin or the provisions of any will, unless they were specifically mentioned. The Military authorities accepted John Roylance’s argument and were at least willing to issue the medals to him, though he died in 1920. His wife and Smith’s adoptive mother, Mary Roylance, continued to seek the medals and there is indication in Smith’s file that they were issued to someone. However, the other mementoes – the Plaque and the Scroll – are shown as issued to ‘Untraceable’, or in other words, not issued.
- based on the Australian War Memorial Honour Roll and notes for the Great Sydney Central Station Honour Board.