James Taylor Vinton SMITH MC

SMITH, James Taylor Vinton

Service Number: Officer
Enlisted: 1 February 1916, Adelaide, SA
Last Rank: Second Lieutenant
Last Unit: Field Artillery Brigades
Born: Parkside, SA, 3 November 1897
Home Town: Mitcham, Mitcham, South Australia
Schooling: Adelaide High School
Occupation: Bank Clerk
Died: Suicide, Malvern, Vic., 22 July 1952, aged 54 years
Cemetery: Springvale Botanical Cemetery, Melbourne
Dodonaea, Garden N13, Bed 5, Rose 34
Memorials: Adelaide High School Honour Board, Bank of New South Wales Roll of Honour Book
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World War 1 Service

1 Feb 1916: Enlisted AIF WW1, Second Lieutenant, Officer, Field Artillery Brigades, Adelaide, SA
9 Nov 1917: Involvement Field Artillery Brigades, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '4' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Port Sydney embarkation_ship_number: A15 public_note: ''
9 Nov 1917: Embarked Field Artillery Brigades, HMAT Port Sydney, Melbourne

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Biography contributed by Faithe Jones

JAMES TAYLOR VINTON SMITH, son of Mr. and Mrs. Ladyman Smith, of Mitcham, South Australia, was born on 3rd November, 1897, at Parkside, South Australia, and received his education at Adelaide High School. He joined the service of the Bank on 25th April, 1915, at Adelaide.

James Taylor Vinton Smith enlisted in the A.I.F. at Adelaide, on 1st February, 1916, and attained the rank of lieutenant on 1st March, 1917. He saw active service in France, and was mentioned in Australian Corps Orders in October, 1918. On 17th October, 1918, he was awarded the Military Cross for conspicuous bravery. The following is an extract from the Second Supplement, No. 31,680, to the “London Gazette” :—

“For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty on 17th October, 1918, at the capture of the high ground east of La Selle River. His battery occupied a position 1,000 yards in rear of the front line, and suffered many casualties from machine-gun and artillery fire. The battery commander and another officer both wounded, he took charge, and supervising the removal of the wounded, handled the battery most capably until its task was completed.”

Source - Bank of NSW Roll of Honour

VINTON SMITH
FOUND DEAD
Mr. James Taylor Vinton Smith, 54, leading Melbourne sharebroker and company director, was found shot dead at his Malvern home yesterday.
 
A .22 calibre rifle was found under his body. Mr. Vinton Smith, who was a former M.L.A. for Oakleigh, had been shot through the head. A doctor  had been treating him for a nervous complaint since he had a "blackout" recently. He attended his Collins st. office as usual on Monday. Mr. Vinton  Smith went to the woodshed at his Bates st. home yesterday morning to chop wood. His wife went to call him at 8.15 a.m. after she heard the  chopping stop. She found her husband dead.

Won M.C.
Mr. Vinton Smith had been a member of the committee of the Stock Exchange of Melbourne for the last six years. He served in the First World  War, and gained the Military Cross and was mentioned in despatches. He was chairman of Edments Holdings Ltd, and Modern Permanent Building and Investment Society, and  was a director of M. B. John Ltd., F. J. Walker Ltd., Carpet Manufacturers Ltd., and Silk and Textile Printers Ltd. He  was on the staff of Bank of New South Wales, Adelaide, from 1915-20, and after he came to Melbourne took an active interest in politics,  becoming  president of the Young Nationalists. He was a member of several Melbourne clubs. He leaves a wife, a son, and a daughter. The funeral  will leave for the Springvale Crematorium from the parlors of T. Bathurst & Co. Pty. Ltd., Glenhuntly rd., Elsternwick, at 11 a.m. tomorrow, after a short service in the chapel.

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