SMITH, Archie Thomas
| Service Number: | 2641 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 9 August 1916, Inverell, NSW |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 33rd Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Graman, New South Wales, Australia, 1894 |
| Home Town: | Inverell, Inverell, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Copeton Public School |
| Occupation: | Contractor |
| Died: | Died of wounds, France, 7 April 1918 |
| Cemetery: |
Abbeville Communal Cemetery Extension Plot III, Row G, Grave No. 30. HAVE MERCY UPON HIM LORD & LET PERPETUAL LIGHT SHINE UPON HIM |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Inverell & District Memorial Olympic Pool WW1 Honour Roll, Inverell & District Memorial Olympic Pool WW1 Honour Roll, Inverell Kurrajong Parade Avenue of Honour, Inverell War Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 9 Aug 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 2641, 3rd Infantry Battalion, Inverell, NSW | |
|---|---|---|
| 17 Nov 1916: | Involvement Private, 2641, 33rd Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '17' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: SS Napier embarkation_ship_number: '' public_note: '' | |
| 17 Nov 1916: | Embarked Private, 2641, 33rd Infantry Battalion, SS Napier, Sydney |
Help us honour Archie Thomas Smith's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Faithe Jones
Son of Francis Cornelius and Susan Martha Smith, of Copeton via Inverell, New South Wales
HAVE MERCY UPON HIM LORD & LET PERPETUAL LIGHT SHINE UPON HIM
Biography contributed by Stephen Brooks
His older brother, 2642 Pte. Francis Norman Smith 33rd Battalion AIF, was killed in action at Messines, Belgium, 8 June 1917, aged 24.
Archie Smith was the son Francis Cornelius and Susan Smith of Copeton, near Inverell, New South Wales.The family lived in the Graman district where their father ran the mail coach, and later the family moved to Copeton the children attended Copeton Public School.
Archie enlisted at the same time as his brother, Frank, during August 1916 and were among eleven men publicly farewelled at Inverell Town Hall and presented with the Inverell medal. The Armidale Chronicle newspaper, 12 August 1916 reported that … ‘The Inverell men made the journey across by cars and were very enthusiastic. They entered town waving flags and singing patriotic songs.’
Apparently, the citizens of Inverell arranged for an inscribed bronze Inverell medal to be presented to men from the area who enlisted, hoping that the memento ‘would remind them of where they had come forward from.’
The brothers were given consecutive regimental numbers in the 33rd Battalion. They arrived in England during January 1917 and joined the 33rd Battalion at the front on 28 April 1917.
Archie was slightly wounded at the Battle of Messines and he was aware that his brother Frank was killed. He was back with the 33rd Battalion by early July 1917. Archie was mortally wounded on 5 April 1918. He was taken to the No.1 South African Genereal Hospital but died two days later, of multiple gunshot wounds to the head, chest, and limbs. Archie was buried at Abbeville Communal Cemetery Extension, France.
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