Smith, William Wilson

1912 William Wilson Smith – 33rd Battalion AIF

William Wilson Smith was born in Kensington South Australia in 1886 to William and Sarah Smith. His parents brought William across to Western Australia in the 1890’s where he completed his education. The family lived in Fremantle and after leaving school William began working with the Western Australian Government Railways. Unfortunately in April 1907 William Wilson Smith (snr) died though William continued to live with his mother.

In 1912 William married Annie Ballard in Fremantle and they would reside at “The Gables’ in Marmion Street Fremantle.

William was still working for the WA Government Railways and had progressed up to becoming an Engine Driver. He had also gained military experience as he had served in the Fremantle Company of the 11^th Australian Infantry Regiment.

On the 1^st March 1916 William went to the Fremantle Drill Hall to enlist in the AIF. His enlistment was subject to his requiring dental treatment but otherwise William was accepted as fit for service in the AIF. The medical officer recorded William’s physical attributes as;

Height:                                     5 feet 7 & ½ inches;

Weight:                                    131lbs;

Chest Measurement:              33-36 inches;

Complexion:                            Dark;

Eyes:                                       Brown;

Hair:                                        Dark Brown;

Religious Denomination:         Presbyterian;

Distinctive Marks:                   3 vaccination marks left shoulder.

William was sent to Blackboy Hill Camp on the 30^th March 1916 where he was put into No.60 Training Depot. On the 1^st May he was transferred into the 5^th Reinforcements to the 51^st Battalion AIF. This attachment only lasted five days as on the 6^th May William was sent to the 2^nd Reinforcements of the 44^th Battalion at Claremont Showgrounds Camp. William would train with this group in WA for the next three months while they waited for their departure orders. Unfortunately tragedy happened at home as his six month old son William died on the 25^th June. Private William Smith was given leave from camp to attend to his family though he was back in camp when their embarkation orders arrived.

On the 9^th August 1916 Will and the 2^nd Reinforcement Group boarded the HMAT Miltiades in Fremantle Harbour and set sail for England. The journey took seven weeks and they berthed at Plymouth Harbour on the 25^th September 1916.

After being disembarked the men were marched into the 11^th Training Battalion at Codford Camp on the Salisbury Plains. On the 13^th October 1916 Will was taken on strength of the 44^th Battalion however on the 11^th November the men from 2^nd Reinforcements to the 44^th Battalion were transferred to the 33^rd and 34^th Battalions of the 9^th Brigade AIF. Will would join the 33^rd Battalion but he didn’t have long with his new unit in England as the 33^rd embarked from Southampton on the 21^st November 1916. The 3^rd Division units were sent to what was called the Nursery sector near Armentieres. It was so called as at this stage it was a quiet part of the front line for new troops to acclimatise to the conditions of the Western Front. William spent Christmas 1916 in the winter snow near Armentieres. Shortly after the New Year, William reported sick. On the 7^th January 1917 he was sent to the 11^th Field Ambulance suffering from conjunctivitis. As this was a contagious condition, William only reported back to his unit when he had fully recovered, on the 13^th January 1917.

William would see continuous service with the 33^rd Battalion through the rest of their time in the Armentieres sector and he moved with them to the Ploegsteert sector on the 20^th May 1917. The 33^rd Battalion, as part of the 3^rd Division, was now gearing up for their role in the upcoming Messines offensive. However William would miss his Battalion’s action as on the 3^rd June he was wounded in action by shrapnel. It also appears that he had been severely shell shocked which would have a lasting effect on William’s war service. The Battalion war diary for the 3^rd June is not very descriptive but it mentions that the battalion had men in working parties, so it was perhaps in one of those that William had been wounded by shellfire. After treatment at the 9^th Field Ambulance he was transferred to the 2^nd Australian Casualty Clearing Station then on to the 4^th Stationary Hospital. William soon recovered from his physical wound but the mental wound would last with him through the war.

After a few days in the 7^th Convalescent Depot, William reported back to the 33^rd Battalion at Messines on the 1^st July 1917. A fortnight later; William was evacuated sick and was diagnosed as Neurasthenia or more commonly known as shell shock. William spent a fortnight out of the line and returned to the 33^rd Battalion on the 1^st August 1917. For the next two months William remained with the 33^rd Battalion, and during this time the 33^rd spent time out of the line training. It was only when the Battalion went forward to Ypres that William reported sick again. On the 30^th September 1917 William was sent to the 6^th Casualty Clearing Station and then to the 4^th Stationary Hospital where he was once again diagnosed as suffering from Neurasthenia. It must have been a difficult time for William as the effects of shell shock were not yet fully understood by the medical fraternity but it was becoming a common ailment in the Great War.

William missed his unit’s action at Passchendaele as he remained in hospital through October 1917. On the 11^th November 1917 William rejoined the 33^rd Battalion at Doulieu though again his stay was short in the front line as nine days later he was evacuated to the 10^th Field Ambulance with the same ailment. William spent a few weeks in a Casualty Clearing Station and as there was no immediate improvement in his condition, on the 13^th December 1917 he was transferred to St John’s Hospital in Etaples. The following day he was transferred into the 26^th General Hospital. William remained here until the 14^th January 1918 when he was transferred to the 6^th Convalescent Depot. He would spend the next month here and he had been showing signs of improvement so on the 13^th February he was sent to the Australian Infantry Base Depot.

Due to his Neurasthenia, William would not be rejoining the 33^rd Battalion or a front line unit, however as he still wanted to do his bit, William was sent to the 1^st Division Train on the 21^st March 1918. This was the same date that the German offensive broke through the British Third and Fifth Armies. While his old battalion was sent south to help combat the German advance, the 1^st Australian Division remained in the north until early April 1918. They were just reaching the vicinity of Amiens to join the other Australian Divisions, when the Germans launched their Lys offensive which captured much of the area where the Australians had spent the 1917/18 winter. The 1^st Division was rushed back north to Hazebrouck and helped the British units bring the German advance to a halt.

William remained with the 1^st Division Train until the 14^th May 1918. On this night German planes dropped their bombs near his billet and his nerves finally gave way. He was sent to the 3^rd Field Ambulance where the medical officer stated that;

“On every occasion that shells have dropped in the vicinity or enemy aircraft have dropped bombs he has become very nervous and unmanageable for some time after.”

William spent the next several weeks in Casualty Clearing Stations though he returned to the 1^st Division Train on the 7^th July 1918. William lasted another twelve days before reporting sick on the 19^th July. William returned to the 1^st Division Train on the 28^th July and, with his condition, he showed tremendous courage to stay with his unit throughout the Amiens offensive when they underwent many, artillery, gas and airplane attacks.

The 1^st Australian Division was withdrawn from the front towards the end of September 1918 and on the 1^st October William reported sick. He was sent to the 37^th Casualty Clearing Station and for the next few weeks was shuffled between the medical units and the base depot. Finally on the 1^st November 1918 William, still diagnosed as suffering from Neurasthenia, was transferred to England for further medical treatment. The authorities seemed to think that it was best for William to return to Australia rather than being hospitalised in England so on the 9^th December 1918 he boarded the HMAT Argyllshire and set sail for home.

William disembarked in Fremantle on the 19^th January 1919 and he was taken straight to the 8^th Australian General Hospital for a medical check up. He was soon released from hospital and returned to the family home in Marmion Street.

William Wilson Smith died on the 14^th June 1954 and is buried in Fremantle Cemetery plot Presbyterian Mon EE 0004.