SMALLEY, Edward Joseph
| Service Number: | 975 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 21 August 1914 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 3rd Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 1 January 1878 |
| Home Town: | Mortdale, Hurstville, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Glebe Public School, New South Wales, Australia |
| Occupation: | Fuel man with Railways |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Gallipoli, Turkey, 7 August 1915, aged 37 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Panel 21, Lone Pine Memorial, Gallipoli Peninsula, Canakkale Province, Turkey |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Haymarket NSW Government Railway and Tramway Honour Board, Hurstville War Memorial, Lone Pine Memorial to the Missing, Mortdale War Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 21 Aug 1914: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 975, 3rd Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 20 Oct 1914: | Involvement Private, 975, 3rd Infantry Battalion, ANZAC / Gallipoli, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '7' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Euripides embarkation_ship_number: A14 public_note: '' | |
| 20 Oct 1914: | Embarked Private, 975, 3rd Infantry Battalion, HMAT Euripides, Sydney |
Help us honour Edward Joseph Smalley's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by John Oakes
Edward Joseph SMALLEY was born at Mortdale in Sydney on 5th March 1878. He went to school at Glebe Public School. His parents were Edmund and Sarah Smalley (née Dewson). In 1914 he married Hannah May Mason (marriage registered at Glebe) and they had a son, also called Edward Joseph, whose birth was registered at Hurstville in 1915.
On 29th January 1908 he joined the NSW Government Railways and Tramways as a labourer (temporary) in the Interlocking (Signalling) Branch based at Sydney. On 27th January 1910 he transferred to the Locomotive Branch as a fuelman (temporary), also based at Sydney. He was in this position when he enlisted in the AIF.
Edward enlisted in the AIF on 21st August 1914. He was allocated to the 3rd Infantry Battalion with the rank of Private (Service Number 975). When he enlisted he and his wife, whom he nominated as his next of kin, were living at Mortdale.
His battalion was raised in August 1914, which was when Edward enlisted, and left Australia for Egypt in October 1914, arriving there on 2nd December 1914. Edward was taken on strength of the 3rd Infantry Battalion at Gallipoli on 7th May 1915. The battalion took part in the Anzac landings at Gallipoli on 25th April 1915.
Edward’s military record contains several documents which show he was appointed to the rank of Lance Corporal (for bravery in the field) at Anzac on 23rd June 1915.
At some time between 7th and 12th August 1915, during the attack on Lone Pine, he was killed in action, but his body was not recovered.
As his gravesite is unknown he is commemorated at the Lone Pine Memorial, Gallipoli Peninsula, Canakkale Province, Turkey. His promotion to Lance Corporal was not gazetted so all his memorial details refer to him as being a Private (they also give his date of death as being 7th August 1915). His place of association is Mortdale, Sydney, NSW.
After his death his widow was granted a pension of £52 per year and his infant son was granted a pension of £13 per year (amended on 25th July 1916 to £1 per fortnight, backdated), both with effect from 12th October 1915.
- based on the Australian War Memorial Honour Roll and notes for the Great Sydney Central Station Honour Board.