SMITH, John Cook
| Service Number: | 5068 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 27 March 1916 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 27th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Cuthero Station, River Darling, New South Wales, Australia, March 1890 |
| Home Town: | Broken Hill, Broken Hill Municipality, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | Killed in Action, France, 7 June 1918 |
| Cemetery: |
Franvillers Communal Cemetery Extension |
| Memorials: | Adelaide National War Memorial, Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Norwood Primary School Honour Board, Norwood War Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 27 Mar 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 5068, 27th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 24 Jun 1916: | Involvement Private, 5068, 27th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '15' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: HMAT Bulla embarkation_ship_number: A45 public_note: '' | |
| 24 Jun 1916: | Embarked Private, 5068, 27th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Bulla, Adelaide | |
| 4 Oct 1917: | Wounded AIF WW1, Private, 5068, 27th Infantry Battalion, Broodseinde Ridge, SW left Shoulder | |
| Date unknown: | Wounded 5068, 27th Infantry Battalion |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Evan Evans
François Berthout, Australia and NZ in WWI
Today, it is with a heart full of gratitude that I want to pay a very respectful tribute to Private number 5068 John Cook Smith who fought in the 27th Australian infantry battalion and who was killed in action 102 years ago,on June 7, 1918 at the age of 28 on the battlefields of the Somme.
John Cook Smith was born in 1889 at Cuttiero Station, River Darling, New South Wales and was the son of James Sydney and Kate Grannan Smith. John was educated at Cuttiero and Wentworth Public School and before the war he worked as a labourer and lived in Broken Hill, New South Wales.
Enlisted at the age of 26 in the 27th Australian Infantry Battalion, 13th Reinforcement, he embarked with his unit from Adelaide, South Australia on board A45 Bulla on June 24, 1916. John was disembarked on August 24, 1916 in Plymouth, England where he received his training then he embarked with his unit from Folkestone, England on November 16, 1916 for France where he was disembarked the next day at Etaples before going to fight in Belgium.
In Belgium, John was wounded in action for the first time by a gun shot wound to the shoulder on October 4, 1917 and was evacuated to England for treatment at the Dartford Military Hospital,then he was sent back to France with his battalion on the Somme front on January 1, 1918.
unfortunately, five months after arriving in the Somme, John was killed in action near Morlancourt on June 7, 1918 at the age of 28.
Today, John Cook Smith rests in peace at the Franvillers Communal Cemetery Extension, Somme with his comrades. John was a typical Australian horseman and bushman and was loved and respected by all acquaintances for his manly straightforwardness.
with all my heart John, I want to say thank you for all that you have done for us, today we commemorate the day of your death but we also honor the man and the soldier that you were, fighting for peace and freedom, for better days, you came from the other side of the world with courage and the smile of a whole generation of young men who fought with admirable bravery and exceptional courage that nothing has broken.you did your duty nobly and admirably for your mother country Australia but also for France, a country of which you knew nothing and yet, you gave your life for us and France will always be your country too, your second family, the Somme and the French people owe you so much and we will always be there to honor you and to honor your country with the greatest respect but also with love. I have never been to Australia Sir, and yet your country has a very great place in my heart and in my life, I know your country through your history, through the courage of all the young Australians who fought and who fell here and it is a very great honor for me. The Somme will never forget,we will never forget.At the going down of the sun and in the morning,we will remember him,we will remember them.🌺
Biography contributed by Rosemary Bruce-Mullins
Station name where John was born was Cuthero Station, River Darling, via Wentworth, NSW, Aust .
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