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Enlisted 6 January 1916, aged 27 years.  Son of Walter Robert Smith and Catherine Susannah Jones.  Philip's brother, Hubert Stanley Smith also served in WW1.  Married in 1916, NSW.  Died from fractured skull and wound to right thigh.  

From Francois Somme Bertout

Pte 177 Philip Claude Smith,
53rd Australian Infantry Battalion,
14th Brigade, 5th Australian Division 

Through the green fields of the Somme, once red with blood, the rays of the sun spread among the poppies that sway silently between the rows of white graves that stand solemnly row upon row on what was, there is more of a hundred years ago, battlefields, fields of death scarified by kilometers of trenches, bruised by lines of endless barbed wire in which were mowed down a whole courageous youth who, with conviction, fought for peace and freedom and who , under bullets and shells, showed their unfailing courage in the midst of the chaos in which thousands of them fell and were lost to preserve humanity and who, with determination and loyalty alongside their brothers in arms, made the pride of their countries and who, until their last breath, did their duty so that we could live, so that we could have a tomorrow that I would give to honor the lives, the memory of these young boys, so that now and forever they may be remembered so that their names may live forever.

Today, it is with the utmost respect and with the deepest gratitude that I would like to honor the memory of one of these young men, one of my boys of the Somme who gave his today for our tomorrow.I would like to pay a very respectful tribute to Private number 177 Philip Claude Smith who fought in the 53rd Australian Infantry Battalion, 14th Brigade, 5th Australian Division, and who died of his wounds 106 years ago, on October 28, 1916 at the age of 30 during the Battle of the Somme.

Philip Claude Smith was born on January 1, 1886 in Newton, South Australia, and was the son of Walter Robert Smith and Catherine Susannah Smith (née Jones). Before the outbreak of the war, Philip married Ethel Annie Smith, lived in Inverness Avenue, Penshurst, New South Wales and worked as an engine driver.

Philip enlisted on December 14, 1915 in Liverpool, New South Wales, in the 36th Australian Infantry Battalion,A Company. After a training period of just over four months at Broadmeadows Camp, Newcastle, New South Wales, Philip embarked with his unit from Sydney, New South Wales, on board HMAT A72 Beltana on May 13, 1916 and sailed for England.

On July 9, 1916, Philip arrived in England and was disembarked at Devonport then joined the 14th Training Battalion to complete his training in rather realistic war conditions with bayonet fighting exercises and trench attacks then two months later, on September 22,proceeded overseas to France.

On September 23, 1916, after a very short journey on the waters of the English Channel, Philip arrived in France and was disembarked at Etaples where he joined the 5th Australian Divisional Base Depot then was transferred and taken on strength in the 53rd Australian Infantry Battalion on October 6 at Mametz Wood , in the Somme.Two weeks later, on October 20, the 53rd Battalion marched for the "Pommiers Camp", near Flers where the next day they occupied a line of support called the "Switch Trench". Two days later, the Battalion entered the front line east of Eaucourt-l'Abbaye where they remained until October 26 then joined Montauban on October 27 and the sector of Flers-Gueudecourt on October 28 where unfortunately Philip met his fate the same day and was seriously injured by a shell which fractured his skull and his right thigh. He was immediately evacuated to the 36th Casualty Clearing Station located in Mericourt-l'Abbé where, despite the greatest care, he died a few hours later of his wounds, he was 30 years old.

In the records of the Australian Red Cross Society Wounded And Missing Inquiry Bureaux Files, the doctor who tried to save Philip said:

"This soldier (Philip Claude Smith) died within a few hours of his admission here (36th Casualty Clearing Station). He was wounded in the head and thigh and was not conscious. My chaplain was unable to find his home address and the man himelf was,of course,unable to give it,or the relatives would have heard direct from the chaplain. Death must have been quite painless."

Today, Philip Claude Smith rests in peace alongside his friends, comrades and brothers in arms at Heilly Station Cemetery, Mericourt-l'Abbe, Somme, and shares his grave with Private number 2304 Joseph Colin Weston who also fought in the 53rd Australian Infantry Battalion and died of his wounds on October 27, 1916 at the age of 19, just one day before Philip.

Philip Claude Smith had a brother who also fought in the Great War, Private number 1442 Hubert Stanley Smith who served in the Light Trench Mortar Battery, Reinforcement 3 and survived the war. He returned to Australia on April 8, 1918 and died peacefully on February 23, 1975 in New South Wales leaving behind a wife and two sons, Cecil James Smith and Walter John Stanley Smith. He is remembered with respect today at the New South Wales Garden Of Remembrance.

Philip, It was at the dawn of your life that under the colors of Australia you answered the call of duty to do your part on the battlefields of the great war, to serve your country alongside your comrades who took a step forward and marched together with pride and their heads held high on the roads of northern France, far from home but determined and animated by the desire to fight in the name of freedom and peace through the villages and the poppy fields of the Somme, of France, a country they did not know but for which they fought valiantly and fiercely, a country which, seeing the smiles of these young men who came from so far away, admired, loved them deeply and adopted them as our sons who gave all their energy, their today and their youth in the hellish trenches of Pozieres which was the first major engagement of the Australian Imperial Force in the Somme and which, at the cost of terrible sacrifices, sowed with their blood the seeds of hope which were born again in the heart of the French people but, under the artillery, under the fire and the bullets, animated by an unfailing courage and a fraternity, a camaraderie which was their strength, charged bayonets forward towards the enemy lines, towards their destinies and the glory of the highest values in which they believed, towards a light that enlightened the darkness of war and the darkest hours of history.With determination, these young men carried on their shoulders the weight of the war but despite the horrors of which they were helpless witnesses, they held the front line, they held their position without ever taking a step back despite the apocalypse and the chaos that fell all around them in the hellish whistle of bullets and the mournful symphony of artillery that rained down desolation and death at an unrelenting pace and that, without rest, pounded the trenches and the once peaceful soils of valleys and fields of poppies over which were shed the tears, sweat and blood of an entire generation of men who fought heroically with their knees deep in the mud in the face of all the inhumanity of a war that dragged the world into madness and despair through the fury of murderous battles that characterized the hell of the Somme where day after day, wave after wave, sons and fathers fell into what was one of the most terrible battles in the history of the 20th century.As brave as lions who fought with the ardor of their youth, with honor and loyalty the Australians wrote in the Somme the history, the history of a strong and young nation whose flag flies proudly on the sacred grounds of the Somme but they also wrote the first pages of the friendship which united Australia and France in the remembrance, in the love and the respect of these young men, of our adopted sons around whom we gather and whom we will always honor the memory with love and on which I will always watch with devotion every day because every day is a day of remembrance to tell and perpetuate the memory of these heroes for whom the Australian people and the French people embrace each other for the most sacred day, ANZAC Day and for which I will always be present standing proudly to express my gratitude and love, respect and admiration for the young Diggers and for the people of Australia to whom my heart will always belong. Thank you so much Philip,for everything. At the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember him,we will remember them.