SMITH, Adam James
| Service Number: | 4365 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 4 September 1916 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 31st Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Naracoorte, South Australia, Australia, 1872 |
| Home Town: | Charters Towers, Charters Towers, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Overseer |
| Died: | Rookwood, New South Wales, Australia, 21 December 1944, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Rookwood Cemetery & Crematorium |
| Memorials: | Ballarat Australian Ex-Prisoners of War Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 4 Sep 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 4365, 31st Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 17 Nov 1916: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 4365, 31st Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '16' embarkation_place: Brisbane embarkation_ship: HMAT Kyarra embarkation_ship_number: A55 public_note: '' | |
| 17 Nov 1916: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 4365, 31st Infantry Battalion, HMAT Kyarra, Brisbane | |
| 27 Sep 1917: | Imprisoned Polygon Wood, Bullet wound in leg. Held at Dulmen camp. |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Glenunga International High School
World War 1(WW1) is one of the most famous conflicts of all time. This war has such a reputation as it influenced the improvement of technology in machinery, weaponry and medical fields. The war started on 28th July 1914 and ended on 11th November 1918. However, Adam James Smith had a much shorter war.
Before the war began, Adam James Smith worked as an overseer in Queensland, though he had been born and brought up in South Australia. He moved to Bluff Downs, Charters towers, Queensland later in life and found a job as an overseer. He never fought in any form of military combat before World War I and never had any family, besides his Father, Gideon Smith. Adam James Smith was born in 1872 and enlisted in the AIF at age 44 in 1916.
He enlisted in the 31st Battalion on the 4th August 1916 in Queensland. He embarked for the Western Front on board the HMAT A55 Kyarra on the 17th November 1916. His first major battle, the battle at Polygon Wood, began on the 26th September 1917. This battle was fought in the Ypres sector, Belgium. On the 27th of September Smith was reported missing. One month later it was confirmed he had taken a bullet in the leg on that day and was taken prisoner by the Germans. Smith saw out the remainder of the war in the German POW camp at Dulmen. He was repatriated to England in January 1919.
Adam James Smith returned to Australia on the 28th March 1919 where he returned to work in Sydney. He eventually died on 21st December 1944, at age 75. He was buried in the Rookwood Necropolis, one of the oldest cemeteries in Australia.