William Alexander Ivory SMITH

1891 - 1915  (24 years)

• Name	William Alexander Ivory SMITH  [1]
  Birth	13 Jun 1891	Fairlie, New Zealand   [2]
  		Birth certificate William Alexander Ivory SMITH
  Gender	Male
  Physical Description	On joining the army, his attestation papers record him as being: aged 23, 5 foot five inches tall, weighing 140 pounds (about 63.5 kg). He had a light complexion, blue eyes, with light brown hair. He was also already missing a somewhat significant piece of his upper right thigh. Otherwise, he appears to have had a good chest, hearing, well-formed limbs, good teeth and was generally free from disease and defect and had evidence of vaccination.
  Military Service	Bef Jun 1915
  	Cadets, 8th Canterbury Mounted Rifles [Territorial forces]
  Occupation	Bef Jun 1915
  	Farmer, employed by Julius Siegert
  Military Service	to 26 Aug 1915	New Zealand
  	Volunteer Trooper 7/124, Canterbury Mounted Rifles, New Zealand. Egyptian Campaign 1914-1915 Balkan Campaign (Gallipoli, Mudros) 1915 In late September, only six weeks after the declaration of war, troops from Canterbury left their training camp at Addington and boarded the Athenic at Lyttelton. Initially, the troops from Canterbury only went on to Wellington. There they linked up with troops from other provinces for their last few weeks of training at Trentham military camp. Finally, the NZEF embarked for France on 16 October 1914 on ten troopships, which linked up with the AIF (Australian Imperial Force) before heading across the Indian Ocean. The entry of the Ottoman Empire (Turkey) into the war in late October resulted in a change of plans - the force now disembarked in Egypt rather than France as originally intended. In Egypt, training, more training, and sightseeing around Cairo followed the troops' arrival. In April the South Canterbury Infantry, but not the Mounted Rifles, were committed to the invasion of Gallipoli. The landings did not go as planned so, with the invasion of Gallipoli staling, reinforcements were required. Therefore, in mid-May the New Zealand Mounted Rifles arrived, including the South Canterbury troopers, to fight without their horses. The Mounted Riflemen were soon in action on the left of ANZAC in battles over outposts. During this time conditions saw William suffer. He was admitted to the 1st Australian Casualty Clearing Station (CCS) on 16 July 1915 with gastric enteritis. He was transferred the following day to Mudros until 28 July, before being discharged back to duty on 1 August. In August an ambitious plan was launched to break the deadlock on the Gallipoli Peninsula. It involved capturing the heights above ANZAC and a new landing to the north. In the complex attack, the Mounted Rifles were to clear a path for the Infantry to take the important hill Chunuk Bair. The Canterbury Mounted Rifles took part in nighttime attacks, taking Walden’s Point and Bauchop’s Hill. In the darkness, the Canterbury Infantry became lost and by dawn were behind schedule. Then disaster struck, the Canterbury soldiers were spotted and came under enemy fire which cut them to pieces. By early afternoon only 50 men out of the original 700 were able to continue fighting. Chunk Bair was captured, and then lost by other troops, so the assault failed. In late August another assault was attempted. The New Zealand Mounted Rifles were to capture a feature called Hill 60 between the ANZAC and northern positions. But by now the South Canterbury Mounted Rifles Squadron was a shadow of its former self; only 43 remained out of a full strength of 169 men. In two daylight attacks, the men charged the Ottoman positions and suffered heavy casualties for little gain. The repeated attacks saw the South Canterbury Squadron shot out of existence. William Smith suffered a gunshot wound to both legs on 21 August and was subsequently evacuated on the hospital ship ‘Franconia’. Sadly William died of his wounds during the voyage.
  		William Alexander Ivory SMITH Alphabetical Roll of New Zealand Expeditionary Force, 1914 Nominal Roll Vol 1, Page:678. Body or reinforcement draft: Main body Unit or Regiment: Cantebury Mounter Rifles Marital status: Single Last New Zealand address: Care of J. Siegert, Fairlie Military District: Canterbury Next of kin: Louisa Smith, care of J. Francis, Post-office, Picton.
  Death	26 Aug 1915	Gallipoli, Greece   [1]
  	Cause: Military injuries
  	Shot through the legs & spent a week on the beach with his wounds and is buried in the Aegean Sea. [1] Injured whilst attacking Hill 60 Gallipoli on the 21st August 1915. He had been suffering from dysentery before the battle.
  		William Alexander Ivory SMITH letter of death from Commander Hutton A hand-written letter from Commander G F Hutton dated 6 October 1915 describing William's army in-service death, and his (incorrect) place of burial.
  Burial	26 Aug 1915	Aegean Sea
  		William Alexander Ivory SMITH letter of death from Forces Chaplain A hand-written letter from a Forces Chaplain dated 12 September 1915 describing William's army in-service death and burial at sea.
  Military Award	Aft 26 Aug 1915
  	1914-15 Star British War Medal Victory Medal
  Note	Lone Pine Memorial, Lone Pine Cemetery, Turkey
  	He is memorialised here.
  		William Alexander Ivory SMITH memorial
  Religion	Anglican
  Person ID	I2245	UK Thrale family
  Last Modified	24 Feb 2025

  
  

  Father	William SMITH,   b. 28 Apr 1835, Great Hormead, Hertfordshire, England d. 5 Feb 1904, New Zealand (Age 68 years)
  Mother	Jessie Georgina CHRISTIE BIRSE,   b. 1866, Little Tillyfair Farm, Coull, Aberdeeen, Scotland
  Marriage	1888  [1]
  		Marriage certificate William SMITH & Jessie Georgina GALLIE
  Notes	William Smith claimed to have been widowed on his marriage certificate to Jessie in 1888 but he was still married to Elizabeth Haines. [1]
  Family ID	F1064	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Event Map		Military Service - Volunteer Trooper 7/124, Canterbury Mounted Rifles, New Zealand. Egyptian Campaign 1914-1915 Balkan Campaign (Gallipoli, Mudros) 1915 In late September, only six weeks after the declaration of war, troops from Canterbury left their training camp at Addington and boarded the Athenic at Lyttelton. Initially, the troops from Canterbury only went on to Wellington. There they linked up with troops from other provinces for their last few weeks of training at Trentham military camp. Finally, the NZEF embarked for France on 16 October 1914 on ten troopships, which linked up with the AIF (Australian Imperial Force) before heading across the Indian Ocean. The entry of the Ottoman Empire (Turkey) into the war in late October resulted in a change of plans - the force now disembarked in Egypt rather than France as originally intended. In Egypt, training, more training, and sightseeing around Cairo followed the troops' arrival. In April the South Canterbury Infantry, but not the Mounted Rifles, were committed to the invasion of Gallipoli. The landings did not go as planned so, with the invasion of Gallipoli staling, reinforcements were required. Therefore, in mid-May the New Zealand Mounted Rifles arrived, including the South Canterbury troopers, to fight without their horses. The Mounted Riflemen were soon in action on the left of ANZAC in battles over outposts. During this time conditions saw William suffer. He was admitted to the 1st Australian Casualty Clearing Station (CCS) on 16 July 1915 with gastric enteritis. He was transferred the following day to Mudros until 28 July, before being discharged back to duty on 1 August. In August an ambitious plan was launched to break the deadlock on the Gallipoli Peninsula. It involved capturing the heights above ANZAC and a new landing to the north. In the complex attack, the Mounted Rifles were to clear a path for the Infantry to take the important hill Chunuk Bair. The Canterbury Mounted Rifles took part in nighttime attacks, taking Walden’s Point and Bauchop’s Hill. In the darkness, the Canterbury Infantry became lost and by dawn were behind schedule. Then disaster struck, the Canterbury soldiers were spotted and came under enemy fire which cut them to pieces. By early afternoon only 50 men out of the original 700 were able to continue fighting. Chunk Bair was captured, and then lost by other troops, so the assault failed. In late August another assault was attempted. The New Zealand Mounted Rifles were to capture a feature called Hill 60 between the ANZAC and northern positions. But by now the South Canterbury Mounted Rifles Squadron was a shadow of its former self; only 43 remained out of a full strength of 169 men. In two daylight attacks, the men charged the Ottoman positions and suffered heavy casualties for little gain. The repeated attacks saw the South Canterbury Squadron shot out of existence. William Smith suffered a gunshot wound to both legs on 21 August and was subsequently evacuated on the hospital ship ‘Franconia’. Sadly William died of his wounds during the voyage. - to 26 Aug 1915 - New Zealand Burial - 26 Aug 1915 - Aegean Sea Note - He is memorialised here. - - Lone Pine Memorial, Lone Pine Cemetery, Turkey  = Link to Google Earth
  Pin Legend	: Address       : Location       : City/Town       : County/Shire       : State/Province       : Country       : Not Set

  
  

• Photos

  William Alexander Ivory SMITH https://www.aucklandmuseum.com/war-memorial/online-cenotaph/record/C14731

  
  

• Sources

  [S105] stojo01@lukraun.com, Jonathan Stormont. [S4] Birth certificate.