SMITH, Samuel Stanley
| Service Number: | 281 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 20 October 1914 |
| Last Rank: | Trooper |
| Last Unit: | 5th Light Horse Regiment (WW1) |
| Born: | Port Macquarie, New South Wales, Australia, 8 October 1888 |
| Home Town: | Billinudgel, Byron Shire, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Cogo Public School, Rollands Plains, New South Wales, Australia |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Gallipoli, Turkey, 29 November 1915, aged 27 years |
| Cemetery: |
Shell Green Cemetery, Gallipoli Peninsula Plot I, Row G, Grave 1 |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Bangalow Clunes District Great War Roll of Honour |
World War 1 Service
| 20 Oct 1914: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 281, 5th Light Horse Regiment (WW1) | |
|---|---|---|
| 21 Dec 1914: | Involvement Private, 281, 5th Light Horse Regiment (WW1), ANZAC / Gallipoli, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '2' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Persic embarkation_ship_number: A34 public_note: '' | |
| 21 Dec 1914: | Embarked Private, 281, 5th Light Horse Regiment (WW1), HMAT Persic, Sydney | |
| 29 Nov 1915: | Involvement Trooper, 281, 5th Light Horse Regiment (WW1), ANZAC / Gallipoli, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 281 awm_unit: 5th Australian Light Horse Regiment awm_rank: Trooper awm_died_date: 1915-11-29 |
About Trooper Samuel Stanley SMITH
281 Trooper Samuel Stanley SMITH of Billinudgel, Brunswick River, NSW, was my great grand-uncle.
A native of Hastings River, NSW, Samuel was born in Port Macquarie on 8 October 1888, the fourth child and second son of Samuel ‘Dick’ (b. 20/12/1851, d. 24/9/1929) and Harriet SMITH (nee FLETCHER – b. 17/2/1859, d. 8/7/1942) of Massenger Street, Byron Bay, NSW.
Samuel had four brothers:
• William Leonard ‘Len’ SMITH
• John Burgess SMITH (656B Served as a Private in the 1st Machine Gun Battalion, embarking from Melbourne, Victoria, on 11 May 1917 on board the HMAT Shropshire A9 and returning to Australia on 20 June 1919)
• Oswald Henry ‘Harry’ SMITH
• Lawrence Macquarie SMITH
and three sisters:
• Elizabeth Ann SMITH – my great grandmother
• Florence May SMITH
• Emily Isabel SMITH.
Samuel enlisted as a Private in the AIF 2nd Light Horse Brigade, 5th Australian Light Horse Regiment on 20 October 1914 in Lismore, New South Wales. At the time of his enlistment he was a labourer. On 21 December 1914 Samuel embarked at Sydney, Australia, with the original B Squadron on board the HMAT Persic A34 bound for Egypt where he spent some months training before arriving on Gallipoli in May 1915.
Samuel was admitted to hospital on the Gallipoli Peninsula on 1 October 1915. At some point he was transferred to the hospital ship SS Maheno from where on 5 October 1915 he was admitted to the No. 1 Auxiliary Hospital in Heliopolis, a suburb of Cairo, Egypt, for Pyrexia (fever).
Samuel was killed at Ryrie's Post near Wilson's Lookout on 29 November 1915, age 27 and is buried at the Shell Green Cemetery, Eceabat İlçesi, Çanakkale, Türkiye (Plot I, Row G, Grave 1, Memorial ID 56400801).
He is also commemorated on:
• a memorial plaque at the Lismore Memorial Gardens Cemetery, Lismore, New South Wales (Column 13, Section 2, Plot 12 - Cenotaph, Memorial ID 166275778)
• Panel Number 5, Roll of Honour, at the Australian War Memorial, Canberra, ACT
• St Martin's Church Great War Honour Roll, Mullumbimby, New South Wales
Samuel was awarded the 1914-15 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal and the Anzac Commemorative Medallion.
Submitted 20 March 2026 by Lyn Parkinson
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