SMITH, Ivon Herbert Jacob
| Service Number: | 3359 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 11 February 1917 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 44th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Mount Egerton, Victoria, Australia, January 1899 |
| Home Town: | Cue, Cue, Western Australia |
| Schooling: | Cue State School, Western Australia, Australia |
| Occupation: | Telephone mechanic |
| Died: | Died of wounds, France, 8 August 1918 |
| Cemetery: |
Daours Communal Cemetery Extension, France Plot III, Row E, Grave No. 6. LOVING SON OF HARRIETT & LATE GEORGE SMITH OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Postmaster General's Department Perth WWI HR |
World War 1 Service
| 11 Feb 1917: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 3359, 44th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 29 Jun 1917: | Involvement Private, 3359, 44th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '18' embarkation_place: Fremantle embarkation_ship: HMAT Borda embarkation_ship_number: A30 public_note: '' | |
| 29 Jun 1917: | Embarked Private, 3359, 44th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Borda, Fremantle |
Help us honour Ivon Herbert Jacob Smith's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Brooks
Ivon Smith only joined the 44th Battalion in France just prior to Christmas 1917, and at 18 years of age was just 157 centimetres in height and weighed 56 kilograms. He was severely wounded during the great assault by the Australians on the 8 August 1918. A mate said he was hit by a large anti-tank bullet, but seemed ‘quite cheery’ after the wound was dressed. He died of wounds later the same day.
The Murchison Times and Day Dawn Gazette reported in September 1918, under the heading “Private Ivon Smith”, “Word was received from Perth on Thursday afternoon of last week, by Mr. Alex. Smith, at Cue, announcing the sad news of the death of his youngest brother, Private Ivon Smith, from wounds received in France a few weeks ago. Ivon was well-known Cue lad, and was for a few years employed at the Cue Post Office, but later was transferred to the Mechanical Staff at the G.P.O. Perth, He enlisted about eighteen months ago, and has been on active service in France for the past year. He was only 19 years of age, and the deepest sympathy is extended to the bereaved family. It is just two years since their next youngest son, Lance-Corporal Jack Smith, was killed in action.”
Ivon Smith is commemorated on the Postmaster General's Department Roll of Honour, Commonwealth of Australia Building, Perth, Western Australia. Dedicated to ‘Officers from Western Australia who gave their lives in the Great War 1914-1918’.