SMITH, Ernest
| Service Numbers: | 235, 619 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 6th Queensland Imperial Bushmen |
| Born: | 15 December 1871, place not yet discovered |
| Home Town: | West End, Brisbane, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Not yet discovered |
| Died: | Accidental Poisoning , Charters Towers, Queensland, Australia, 20 December 1908, aged 37 years |
| Cemetery: |
Charters Towers Monumental & Lawn Cemetery, Queensland Plot: LYND, Section 17, Plot 0, Grave # 3634 |
| Memorials: | Ballarat Australian Ex-Prisoners of War Memorial |
Boer War Service
| 1 Oct 1899: | Involvement Private, 235, 1st Queensland Mounted Infantry | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Nov 1899: | Embarked Australian and Colonial Military Forces - Boer War Contingents, Private, 235, 1st Queensland Mounted Infantry, AWM Boer War Unit Details, Murray p. 448 notes 1st QMI embarked 1 Nov 1899 aboard Cornwall arriving Cape Town 13 Dec 1899. | |
| 23 Jan 1901: | Discharged Australian and Colonial Military Forces - Boer War Contingents, Private, 235, 1st Queensland Mounted Infantry, National Archives Australia- Boer War Dossier notes returned to Australia aboard Orient arriving Brisbane 16 Jan 1901, discharged 23 Jan 1901. | |
| 20 Aug 1901: | Embarked Australian and Colonial Military Forces - Boer War Contingents, Private, 619, 6th Queensland Imperial Bushmen, AWM Boer War Unit Details, Murray p. 506 notes the First Draft of the 6th QIB embarked at Sydney 20 Aug 1901 aboard Britannic arriving Cape Town 22 Sep 1901. | |
| 14 Aug 1902: | Discharged Australian and Colonial Military Forces - Boer War Contingents, Private, 619, 6th Queensland Imperial Bushmen, Qld State Archives- Boer War Service Paybooks 5th QIB, Bk 4 p. 57, notes returned to Australia aboard Norfolk arriving Brisbane 7 Aug 1902, discharged 14 Aug 1902. |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Claude McKelvey
Note- Ernest Smith was also known as Ernest Edgar Smith from which it appears he changed his name by Deed Poll to Ernest Edgar Grenville.
Ernest Smith served twice in the South African (Boer) war. First service was as a Private S.N. 235 in the 1st Queensland Mounted Infantry B Company. Second service was as a Private S.N. 619 in the 6th Queensland Imperial Bushmen (1st Draft).
When he joined the 1st QMI in 1899 and his details were published with the rank and file in The Queenslander, 18 Nov 1899, he was noted as single and residing at Boundary St, West End. In the Boer War Service Paybooks for the 1st QMI, Bk 2 p. 94, it is noted he directed part of his pay to Mrs. M. Smith, Russell St, South Brisbane. He served the full tour of the 1st QMI and was discharged in Brisbane on 23 Jan 1901.
He then later joined again with the 6th QIB and was selected as part of the 1st Draft of the 6th that embarked on 20 Aug 1901, some 4 months after the main 6th QIB had left. The men selected in the 1st Draft in the main consisted of men who had previously served in previous contingents in South Africa, and were being sent as reinforcements for the 5th and 6th QIB contingents already in South Africa.
The men in the draft were not entered on the original nominal roll of the 6th QIB but he was recorded in the Boer War Service Paybooks for the 5th QIB (to which he was allotted), Bk 4 p. 57. Newspaper reports note when the 5th QIB returned to Australia a number of men remained in South Africa for various reasons including remaining for further service.
Report in The Brisbane Courier, 16 May 1902, notes when the 5th QIB embarked to return to Australia that, S.N. 619, Private Ernest Smith, remained in South Africa for further service. The Boer War Service Paybooks for the 5th QIB noted he returned to Brisbane and was discharged 14 Aug 1902.
It appears that somehow, while on his first service in South Africa, he placed a notice in Queensland Newspapers including The Western Champion, 20 Feb 1900, p. 4, advising his intention to change his name legally to Ernest Edgar Granville.
A biography for Ernest Edgar Smith placed on the Australian Boer War Memorial online database by his grandson notes he lived in Charters Towers where he passed from accidental poisoning on 20 Dec 1908. This indicates that at some point he was either married or in a relationship and had children.
Local Charters Towers newspaper, The Evening Telegraph, 5 Jan 1909, p. 3, contained the report on deaths at the hospital for the month of Dec 1908 which included E. E. Grenville. Qld BDM online death register records Ernest Edgar Grenville, son of John Grenville and Caroline Hunt, as passing on 20 Dec 1908, and Townsville Regional Council cemetery burial records also record him under that name.
(source- AWM Boer War Nominal Roll, Murray p. 455 & 518; National Archives Australia- Boer War Dossier 1st service; Qld State Archives- Boer War Service Paybooks 1st QMI, Bk 2 p. 94, and 5th QIB, Bk 4 p. 57; various newspaper articles as noted in bio).