SMITH, James Alexander
(Service number 34741)
| First Rank | Private | Last Rank | Private |
|---|
Birth
| Date | 07/03/1905 | Place of Birth |
|---|
Enlistment Information
| Date | Age | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Address at Enlistment | |||
| Occupation | Labourer | ||
| Previous Military Experience | |||
| Marital Status | |||
| Next of Kin | Mrs M Smith, Glen-iti, Canterbury | ||
Military Service
| Served with | NZ Armed Forces | Served in |
|---|
Embarkation Information
| Body on Embarkation | NZ Expeditionary Force | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Unit, Squadron, or Ship | 20yh Reinforcements Catnerbury Infantry Battalion, C Company | ||
| Date | 7 December 1916 | ||
| Transport | HMNZT 71 Port Lyttelton | ||
| Embarked From | Wellington | Destination | Plymouth, England |
| Other Units Served With | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Last Unit Served With | |||
Military Awards
| Campaigns | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Service Medals | |||
Award Circumstances and Date
No information
Prisoner of War Information
| Date of Capture | |
|---|---|
| Where Captured and by Whom | |
| Actions Prior to Capture | |
| PoW Serial Number | |
| PoW Camps | |
| Days Interned | |
| Liberation Date |
Death
| Date | 4 October 1917 | Age | 24 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Place of Death | Ypres, Belgium | ||
| Cause | Killed in action | ||
| Memorial or Cemetery | Tyne Cot Cemetery, Zonnebeke, West-Vlaanderen | ||
| New Zealand Memorials | On Memorial wall, Timaru; Gleniti War Memorial (lists a J Smith) | ||
Biographical Notes
Son of William & Matilda Smith of Timaru.Timaru Herald, Volume CVII, Issue 16482, 1 March 1918, Page 5
In Wednesday's issue a letter was published in reference to the death of Private James A. Smith, of Glen-iti. This letter, one of sympathy to Mrs Smith, the deceased soldier's mother, was written by two Timaru soldiers who were serving with her boy—Privates Lake Sinclair and J. Ramsay—whom Mrs Smith desires to thank for their kindly thought which prompted them to send it. Timaru Herald, Volume CVII, Issue 16480, 27 February 1918, Page 8
Private James SMITH'S DEATH. Mrs W. Smith, of Glen-iti, has received letters from two soldiers at the front, in which they refer to the death in action of her son James. They state that her son's death was a great blow to all of them. In him they lost one of their bravest comrades, and he was a great favourite and never tired of doing anvone a good turn. One soldier writes as follows: I had known Jimmy since he joined us, and had always been good friends with him. In fact, all who know him thought highly of his admirable Qualities. We were within chain or so of our objective when Jimmy was hit. Up till then I. had been near him all the time. He had just preceded me out of the shellhole were in when he was caught by the machine gun fire. He fell back almost into my arms. You will perhaps be relieved to know that it was instantaneous. The next morning I and a few others brought his body in and gave it the burial that all our good fellows get, about a mile or so in front of the town. We of this company join in extending to you our heartfelt, sympathy in your sad loss.
Sources
Paperspast
External Links
Related Documents
Researched and Written by
Liz Shea (SC branch NZSG)
Currently Assigned to
Not assigned.
Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License unless otherwise stated.