The AIF Project

William James SMITH

Regimental number794
Place of birthLongside, Aberdeenshire, Scotland
SchoolPeterhead, Scotland
Age on arrival in Australia29
ReligionPresbyterian
OccupationLabourer
Addressc/o Mrs Sneddon, Mariius Street, Tamworth, New South Wales
Marital statusSingle
Age at embarkation28
Next of kinFather, George Smith, Nether Hill, St Fergus, Aberdeenshire, Scotland
Previous military serviceServed in the 5th Gordon Highlanders, Territorial Force.
Enlistment date25 August 1914
Rank on enlistmentPrivate
Unit name2nd Battalion, G Company
AWM Embarkation Roll number23/19/1
Embarkation detailsUnit embarked from Sydney, New South Wales, on board HMAT A23 Suffolk on 18 October 1914
Rank from Nominal RollPrivate
Unit from Nominal Roll2nd Battalion
FateKilled in Action 2 May 1915
Place of death or woundingGallipoli, Turkey
Date of death2 May 1915
Age at death29
Age at death from cemetery records29
Place of burialNo known grave
Commemoration detailsThe Lone Pine Memorial (Panel 19), Gallipoli, Turkey

The Lone Pine Memorial, situated in the Lone Pine Cemetery at Anzac, is the main Australian Memorial on Gallipoli, and one of four memorials to men of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force. Designed by Sir John Burnet, the principal architect of the Gallipoli cemeteries, it is a thick tapering pylon 14.3 metres high on a square base 12.98 metres wide. It is constructed from limestone mined at Ilgardere in Turkey.

The Memorial commemorates the 3268 Australians and 456 New Zealanders who have no known grave and the 960 Australians and 252 New Zealanders who were buried at sea after evacuation through wounds or disease. The names of New Zealanders commemorated are inscribed on stone panels mounted on the south and north sides of the pylon, while those of the Australians are listed on a long wall of panels in front of the pylon and to either side. Names are arranged by unit and rank.

The Memorial stands over the centre of the Turkish trenches and tunnels which were the scene of heavy fighting during the August offensive. Most cemeteries on Gallipoli contain relatively few marked graves, and the majority of Australians killed on Gallipoli are commemorated here.

Panel number, Roll of Honour,
  Australian War Memorial
34
Other details

War service: Egypt, Gallipoli

Medals: 1914-15 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal

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