SMITH, Cornelius
(Service number 55189)
| First Rank | Rifleman | Last Rank |
|---|
Birth
| Date | 10 October 1885 | Place of Birth | Timaru |
|---|
Enlistment Information
| Date | 12 February 1917 | Age | 31 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Address at Enlistment | Mangaweka | ||
| Occupation | Farmer | ||
| Previous Military Experience | |||
| Marital Status | Single; married; one child | ||
| Next of Kin | Mrs C. SMITH (wife), Mangaweka | ||
Military Service
| Served with | NZ Armed Forces | Served in | Army |
|---|
Embarkation Information
| Body on Embarkation | New Zealand Rifle Brigade | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Unit, Squadron, or Ship | Reinforcements, H Company (part) | ||
| Date | 26 July 1917 | ||
| Transport | Ulimaroa | ||
| Embarked From | Destination | Plymouth, Devon, England | |
| Other Units Served With | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Last Unit Served With | New Zealand Rifle Brigade | ||
Military Awards
| Campaigns | Western European | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Service Medals | British War Medal; Victory Medal | ||
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 | 11 May 1973 | Age | 87 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Place of Death | Taihape | ||
| Cause | |||
| Memorial or Cemetery | Taihape Cemetery | ||
| New Zealand Memorials | |||
Biographical Notes
Cornelius Smith was born on 10 October 1885 at Timaru, the third son of Scottish-born James Smith and his Irish-born wife, Mary née O’Neill. James and Mary married in 1881 and seven children were born at Timaru. Three more were born in the North Island.Cornelius was baptised Roman Catholic on 8 November 1885 at Timaru. He was educated at the Timaru Roman Catholic School and at Waimataitai School, Timaru, leaving there at the end of 1894, when the family moved to the North Island, settling at Mangaweka, where Mr Smith took up farming, his sons following him.
Cornelius Smith and his brother John, both farmers at Kawhatau, Mangaweka, were listed on the Reserve Rolls. Both men appealed, Cornelius on the ground of hardship. He stated that he wanted a few months to “close up his affairs”. After a lengthy examination, his appeal was dismissed and one month allowed before he had to go into camp. When Cornelius enlisted on 12 February 1917, he was single, Roman Catholic, and farming at Mangaweka. He married Ellen Gladys Moon on 23 April 1917 at Wellington, and their son, Cornelius John Smith, was born on 29 November 1917 at Taihape.
C. Smith, who had “donned His Majesty’s khaki”, was farewelled at a social in Kraiger’s Hall, Kawhatau, in early April 1917. Rifleman Cornelius Smith nominated his wife as next-of-kin and embarked with the Rifle Brigade on 26 July 1917. In August 1918, Cornelius Smith was wounded, his name appearing in the casualty lists at the same time as his brother John’s.
His brother, John Smith, died of illness on 19 February 1919 in England. His oldest brother, James Smith, also served in World War I, possibly with the Australian Forces.
Sources
Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database [01 October 2020]; NZ BDM Indexes (Department of Internal Affairs) [01 October 2020]; Taihape Daily Times, 23 & 24 February 1917, Rangitikei Advocate, 7 April 1917, 7 September 1918, 3 May 1919 (Papers Past) [01, 02 & 03 October 2020]; Baptism Index (Christchurch Roman Catholic Diocese CD held by South Canterbury Branch NZSG) [02 October 2020]; NZ Electoral Rolls (ancestry.com.au) [02 & 03 October 2020]; Taihape Cemetery headstone image & burial record (Rangitikei District Council) [02 October 2020]
External Links
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Researched and Written by
Teresa Scott, SC branch NZSG
Currently Assigned to
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Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License unless otherwise stated.
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