FLEWELL-SMITH, Bernard
| Service Number: | 7707 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 18 April 1917, Brisbane, Queensland |
| Last Rank: | Sergeant |
| Last Unit: | 15th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Lowood, Queensland, Australia, 4 March 1898 |
| Home Town: | Zillmere, Brisbane, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Tarampa State School and Ipswich Grammar School, Queensland, Australia |
| Occupation: | Farmer |
| Died: | Natural causes, War Veterans Home, Caboolture, Queensland, Australia, 24 August 1992, aged 94 years |
| Cemetery: | Not yet discovered |
| Memorials: | Chermside Zillmere School of Arts Roll of Honour, Marchant Park Memorial Gates, Sandgate Honour Roll |
World War 1 Service
| 18 Apr 1917: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 7707, Brisbane, Queensland | |
|---|---|---|
| 31 Oct 1917: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 7707, 9th Infantry Battalion, Enlistment/Embarkation WW1, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '9' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Euripides embarkation_ship_number: A14 public_note: '' | |
| 31 Oct 1917: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 7707, 9th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Euripides, Sydney | |
| 14 Sep 1919: | Discharged AIF WW1, Sergeant, 7707, 15th Infantry Battalion |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by John Edwards
Son of Col. John Francis Flewell-Smith (/explore/people/783303)
"Bernard Flewell-Smith (1898–1992), fruit grower and fruit producers’ co-operative manager, was born on 4 March 1898 at Lowood, Queensland, third surviving child of English-born John Francis Flewell-Smith, farmer, and his Queensland-born wife Frances Maude, née Stephens. A citizen-soldier and lieutenant colonel in the Queensland Defence Force, John commanded (February–July 1901) the 5th (Queensland Imperial Bushmen) Contingent, and then held the appointment of area commandant at Colesberg, in the South African War. He later served in the Commonwealth Citizen Military Forces. As a colonel (1916–17) in the Australian Imperial Force’s (AIF) Sea Transport Service in 1916-17, he commanded troops on board HMAT Boorara. He retired from the CMF in 1920 as an honorary brigadier general.
Bernard, affectionately known by family members as ‘Bon,’ attended Tarampa State School. He completed his education at Ipswich Grammar School after winning a State scholarship in 1912. A brilliant student, in 1915 he was awarded the Thomas Joseph Byrnes memorial medal, given annually to the most successful candidate in the junior public examination held by the University of Queensland. The outbreak of World War I altered the direction of Flewell-Smith’s life. Intent on a career in medicine, he instead managed the family farms in his father’s absence until he too went to war.
On 18 April 1917 Flewell-Smith enlisted in the AIF. Joining the 15th Battalion on the Western Front in April 1918, he suffered a minor wound in June. In the battle of Hamel on 4 July, he took command when his section commander was wounded, rallied the men around him, and secured the objective. He was awarded the Military Medal for his courage and leadership. Promoted to sergeant in July 1919, he was discharged from the AIF in Brisbane on 14 September. Under the soldier-settlement scheme he bought a small farm at Bracken Ridge on the northern outskirts of Brisbane and began growing pineapples. He married Mary Ethel Carlin Darling at the Congregational Church, Cheshunt, Victoria, on 30 April 1921..." - READ MORE LINK (adb.anu.edu.au)
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