Birth

Enlistment Information

Military Service

Embarkation Information

Military Awards

Death

Biographical Notes

John Smith, known as Jack, was born on 30 January 1884 at Timaru, the second 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. John was baptised Roman Catholic on 30 March 1884 at Timaru. His early education was surely at Timaru. His sister Margaret attended Sacred Heart School, Timaru, and both Cornelius and Jane attended Waimataitai School, Timaru, Cornelius having gone there from the Roman Catholic School. He may well be the John Smith who received second prize for Standard III drawing in 1891 at Waimataitai School, and a prize for good attendance. At the end of 1894 the family moved to the North Island, settling at Mangaweka, where Mr Smith took up farming, his sons following him.

John Smith and his brother Cornelius, both farmers at Kawhatau, Mangaweka, were listed on the Reserve Rolls. Both men appealed, John’s appeal being dismissed and one month allowed before he had to go into camp. When Jack enlisted on 20 February 1917, he was single, Roman Catholic, and farming at Kawhatau. John Smith married Julia O’Sullivan on 9 April 1917 at Wellington. Their son, John Bernard Smith, was born at Wellington on 8 June 1918, five months after John embarked for the Front. Private John Smith embarked with the Otago Infantry Regiment on 31 December 1917. He had nominated his sister, Nellie, as next-of-kin. In early September 1918, it was reported that John Smith, of Kawhatau, had been wounded. His injuries, which he suffered in August in France, were serious, necessitating the amputation of an arm. On 14 February 1919, Jack was admitted to the New Zealand General Hospital at Walton-on-Thames, England, suffering with pneumonia. It was expected that he would soon embark for home. Sadly, that was not to be. He was, in fact, dangerously ill, and dying five days later, aged 35 years, he was buried at Brookwood Cemetery, Woking, England. The memorial plaque and scroll were sent to next-of-kin on 20 December 1922.

A memorial to Private John Smith is inscribed on his parents’ grave stone in the Mangaweka Cemetery. His brother, Cornelius Smith, who served in World War I, was fortunate to return home. His oldest brother, James Smith, also served in World War I, possibly with the Australian Forces, and he too returned home.

Sources

Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database [01 October 2020]; NZ BDM Indexes (Department of Internal Affairs) [01 October 2020]; Timaru Herald, 19 December 1891, Taihape Daily Times, 23 & 24 February 1917, Rangitikei Advocate, 6, 7 & 11 September 1918, 1 March 1919 (Papers Past) [01, 02 & 03 October 2020]; NZ Electoral Rolls (ancestry.com.au) [02 & 03 October 2020]; Mangaweka Cemetery headstone image & burial record (Rangitikei District Council) [02 October 2020]

External Links

• Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph record
• Military personnel file

Related Documents

No documents available. 

Researched and Written by

Teresa Scott, SC branch NZSG

Currently Assigned to

Not assigned.