SMITH, Harold Consort
| Service Number: | 518 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 20 August 1914, An original of D Company |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 12th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Matthina, Tasmania, Australia, 18 November 1896 |
| Home Town: | Mathinna, Break O'Day, Tasmania |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Bushman |
| Died: | Killed in action, Gallipoli, Turkey, 20 May 1915, aged 18 years |
| Cemetery: |
Shell Green Cemetery, Gallipoli Peninsula Artillery Road Plot 24. MOTHER IS PROUD OF HER HERO, THOUGH HE WAS ONLY A PRIVATE |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour |
World War 1 Service
| 20 Aug 1914: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 518, 12th Infantry Battalion, An original of D Company | |
|---|---|---|
| 20 Oct 1914: | Involvement Private, 518, 12th Infantry Battalion, ANZAC / Gallipoli, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '10' embarkation_place: Hobart embarkation_ship: HMAT Geelong embarkation_ship_number: A2 public_note: '' | |
| 20 Oct 1914: | Embarked Private, 518, 12th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Geelong, Hobart |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Brooks
Harold Consort Smith was born on 18 November 1896 and was still shy of his 18th birthday when he embarked on board HMAT Geelong from Hobart on 20 October 1914. When he died of wounds in an assault on the Turkish positions at Gaba Tepe in Gallipoli he was only 18 years and six months of age.
His real name was Harold Consort Battenburg Street, as per his roll of honour form, born in Mathinna, Tasmania, and one assumes he enlisted under a false name because he was underage. His parents were David Charles and Mary Eliza Ellen Street of the same address. No real effort was made to correct his name and his mother gave the epitaph on his grave, MOTHER IS PROUD OF HER HERO, THOUGH HE WAS ONLY A PRIVATE.
A letter appeared in the Launceston Examiner on 18 August 1915, which seems to refer to Harold Consort Smith, “Private Thos. Maher, 3rd reinforcements, formerly of Mathinna, writes from Luna Park Hospital on June 29: — "I will soon be fit to go back to the front. I had eight weeks in the fighting line without a spell, and had a trying time, seeing some awful sights. I have had men killed all around me. I was in a support trench when a Jack Johnson dropped a shell on us, blowing a young fellow (born at Mathinna) to pieces. I got struck in the face with one of his arms. The boy I mentioned was named Smith; He was Mr. Ed. Hayes' grandson. “
Mary Eliza Ellen Street’s maiden name was Hayes, and her father was Edwin Thomas Hayes.
It was noted in his service file that he was buried about 60 yards from the 12th Battalion HQ on 20 May 1915. He was later reported as being buried in the Artillery Road East Cemetery at Gallipoli and his remains were later reinterred in the Shell Green Cemetery.
As the mother did not know the whereabouts of the father in 1920, the mother Mary Eliza Street received all of Harold’s medals and entitlements.
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