Edward Smith

     NOTE: The information on this page is my research to date and is subject to change as I become better informed. I very much welcome any corrections or additional info you might have - my email address is at the bottom of this page. Whilst historical facts are not copyright, my writing about these facts are. If you wish to use any text from this site on Ancestry or on any other website, please ask me first - Tim Hill.


Edward was born on Wednesday, 19 November 1884 at the Adelaide suburb of Parkside.² He was the son of Walter Thomas Smith and Lucy Deane. He presumably lived with his parents at Cape Borda, Kangaroo Island, South Australia, in August 1898.³

The Smith family hosted a social evening at their house at Cape Borda, Kangaroo Island, South Australia, for the Cape Borda Christian Endeavor Society, and the three girls and two of the men contributed songs and recitations.⁴

He may have attended the wedding of his brother in the marriage of James Smith and Elsie Florence Darby at Elsie's parent's home at "Kiliora"(?) Stanley St. on Thursday, 22 December 1904 at North Adelaide. Elsie was 5 months pregnant when she married; the effect of this on Elsie's strict Wesleyan Methodist mother isn't known however it is notable that Elsie and James married at Elsie's parent's Adelaide home, far from the town of Mylor where they grew up, and not married in the Congregational church that her sisters were married in. It's also notable that Elsie's mother and her mother's mother were pregnant when they married too.. James and Elsie went on to have four children together, one of whom died young.⁵ Jim and his brothers Edward and Arthur had their photos taken together c1905.

On Saturday, 18 January 1908 the Smith family departed Harvey's Return, in Cape Borda, Kangaroo Island, South Australia, for their annual holidays. On their journey to Adelaide, a large bushfire was observed on the island.⁶ He presumably lived with his parents at Kongorong, South Australia, in August 1912.⁷ Edward Smith was a farmer working for Frank Uphill at Kongorong, South Australia.^8,9

Edward Smith married Ivy Constance Uphill, daughter of Frank R. Uphill, on Monday, 13 July 1914 at Mt. Gambier, South Australia. They were 29 and 20 respectively.¹⁰ Edward Smith was a farmer with his father-in-law.¹¹

Edward's brother Arthur began military service on Thursday, 14 October 1915 with the Light Horse at age 21.¹² Edward Smith was described as a Methodist.¹³

Edward Smith began military service on Monday, 17 April 1916 with the 2nd Depot Battalion at age 31. His service number was 2031.¹⁴ He was described as 5 foot 6 inches tall, weighing 57 pounds. His complexion was described as mid-fair, with blue eyes and light brown hair in April 1916.¹³

Edward left South Australia on 12 July 1916 on the 'Princess Victoria'.¹⁵ He disembarked at Plymouth on Saturday, 9 September 1916.¹⁵ Edward was sent to hospital in Etaples, France, staying there for about 2 and a half weeks for an unknown reason.¹⁶

Edward was taken on strength with the B Company 48th Battalion of the Australian Army on 16 February 1917. The 48th Battalion was half Gallipoli veterans from the 16th Battalion, and half new recruits, mainly from regional South Australia and Western Australia. The Australian War Memorial notes that the 48th "became known as the "Joan of Arc" (the Maid of Orleans) battalion because it was "made of all Leanes" - it was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Ray Leane, his brother was the adjutant, and several other relatives were scattered throughout the battalion."^17,18,11,9 Edward was At this time, the 48th Battalion were in the vicinity of Bernafay Wood, France, with some of the unit in Townsville Camp and the rest on the front line in 'Bull's Trench', perhaps named after the Battalion commander, Lt. Col Raymond 'The Bull' Leane.^19,20

Edward was reported missing on Wednesday, 11 April 1917 at Reincourt, The Somme, France, having been captured by the Germans in The First Battle of Bullecourt. According to the Australian War Memorial, "The attack was hastily planned and mounted and resulted in disaster. Tanks which were supposed to support the attacking Australian infantry either broke down or were quickly destroyed. Nevertheless, the infantry managed to break into the German defences. Due to uncertainty as to how far they had advanced, supporting artillery fire was withheld, and eventually the Australians were hemmed in and forced to retreat. The two brigades of the 4th Division that carried out the attack, the 4th and 12th, suffered over 3,300 casualties; 1,170 Australians were taken prisoner - the largest number captured in a single engagement during the war."

Edward had sustained bullet wounds to his shoulder, left hand and left buttock. The men of the 48th Battalion suffered heavily; of the 750 men, more than 430 were lost on this day.^21,22,20 On 21 April 1917 Edward was apparently sent to a German hospital (Lazarett) perhaps run by the Jesuits and then to the Gefangenenlager (prisoner of war camp) for Mannschaftslager (enlisted men) at Hameln, Germany.²³ The news of Edward's capture by the Germans reached home Thursday, 17 May 1917.^24,11,25

A contemporary source described the camp at Hameln, Germany:

According to Red Cross records, Edward was transferred from the Gefangenenlager at Douai, France.²⁷ He was then taken to the Gefangenenlager at Dülmen, Germany.²⁷ News was received on Wednesday, 20 June 1917 that Edward was severely wounded and was a prisoner of war in Germany.^24,11 Edward was transferred to Stammlager (base camp) Preußisch Holland, a large camp with 15,000 POWs, with up to 35,000 assigned to various work camps. Edward was perhaps assigned to Osterode, a locomotive works.²⁷

It seems that Walter and Lucy's land at Kongorong, South Australia, was forfeited under a Closer Settlement Agreement due to non-payment of arrears (the newspaper incorrectly states that this applied to Section 696; the Smiths held Section 496). This land was then noted as an 'abandoned block' and made available for selection 4th of September 1919. It was then granted to their son Edward in January 1920.^28,29,30,31

A message was conveyed from Edward via the Red Cross saying "I have not received any invalid parcels yet but am looking forward to them. My wounds are not too bad now and I am fairly well."²⁷ Edward was repatriated to Hull, Yorkshire, on Wednesday, 1 January 1919, a good start to the year.¹⁶ News was received on February 1919 that Edward had been returned to England.^24,11 He was granted three months leave on Tuesday, 6 May 1919 for the 'reason of agriculture', probably as compensation for his time as a prisoner.³² He was emplyed on 7 May 1919 at F. Eliott & Sons 74 High Street, in Barnstaple, Devon.³² He returned to his unit on 8 August 1919.³²

Edward returned to Australia on 19 August 1919 at age 34.³² He was released from active duty on 27 November 1919.³² Edward lived in March 1930 at Mt. Gambier, South Australia.¹

His father died 19 March 1930 at the age of 78. Edward was aged 45 when this happened.³³³⁴

His mother died May 1943 at the approximate age of 84. Edward was aged 58 when this happened.

Edward died on 26 June 1961 at age 76.³⁴