SMITH, William Frank
| Service Number: | 2720 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 4 June 1915, Enlisted at Liverpool. |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 1st Machine Gun Company |
| Born: | Orpington, Bromley, Kent, England, April 1888 |
| Home Town: | Balmain, Leichhardt, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Railway Permanent Way (track) Worker |
| Died: | Killed in Action, France, 22 July 1916 |
| Cemetery: |
Pozières British Cemetery Plot III, Row C, Grave No. 19 |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Haymarket NSW Government Railway and Tramway Honour Board |
World War 1 Service
| 4 Jun 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 2720, 3rd Infantry Battalion, Enlisted at Liverpool. | |
|---|---|---|
| 9 Aug 1915: | Involvement Private, 2720, 3rd Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '7' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Runic embarkation_ship_number: A54 public_note: '' | |
| 9 Aug 1915: | Embarked Private, 2720, 3rd Infantry Battalion, HMAT Runic, Sydney | |
| 12 Mar 1916: | Transferred AIF WW1, Private, 1st Machine Gun Company, From 3rd Infantry Battalion. Transferred in Egypt before embarking for the Western Front. | |
| 22 Jul 1916: | Involvement Private, 2720, 1st Machine Gun Company, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 2720 awm_unit: 1st Australian Machine Gun Company awm_rank: Private awm_died_date: 1916-07-22 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by John Oakes
William Frank SMITH (Service Number 2720) was born at Orpington, Bromley, Kent, about April 1888. He worked in the Permanent Way (trackwork) Branch of the NSW Railways.
Smith enlisted at the Liverpool on 4th June 1915. He gave his mother, Eliza Smith living in Kent, as his next of kin. He was initially allotted to the 3rd Australian Infantry Battalion.He embarked HMAT ‘Runic’ on 9th August 1915. On 18th October he was admitted to hospital at Abassia (Egypt) with mumps. He returned to duty on 12th November.
On 12th March 1916 he was transferred to the 1st Australian Machine Gun Company. This was just before embarking ‘Grampian’ at Alexandria for passage to the Western Front in France through Marseilles where he passed on 28th March.
Smith was killed in action on 22nd July 1916 and interred somewhere at Pozières (though the present location at Pozières British Cemetery is as a result of rationalisation of cemeteries after the war).
A pension was granted to his mother Eliza Smith at Laundry Cottage, Kevington, Kent, but it was cancelled at her own request on 26th September 1917.
- based on the Australian War Memorial Honour Roll and notes for the Great Sydney Central Station Honour Board.