Not Forgotten, 3213 Private James SMITH, 51 Battalion AIF, World War 1

Private James Smith, a farmer from Wyalkatchem and Bencubbin, was born in Nagambie, Victoria, the son of William and Jessie Smith of Wirrate near Nagambie, Victoria. His brother William Smith took up
Ningham Location 720, north of Bencubbin, in 1910 and it is believed that James assisted him. Their eldest brother, Arthur Bertram Smith, farmed east of Wyalkatchem. It is thought that James and William Smith rode across the lake area from Bencubbin to Wyalkatchem where they took the train to Perth to enlist together.

James Smith enlisted at the age of 23 in Perth on 17 August 1916 in 51st Battalion, 8th Reinforcements and spent 14 days in hospital at Black Boy Hill in August with measles. He embarked from Fremantle on HMAT A34 Berrima on 23 December 1916 with his brother William Smith, being admitted to the ship’s hospital twice before arriving in England on 16 February 1917 and stationed at Codford Camp. James Smith proceeded to France on 19 June 1917.

The 51st Battalion was raised in Egypt in the first week of March 1916, as part of the “doubling” of the AIF. Approximately half of its recruits were
Gallipoli veterans from the 11th Battalion, and the other half, fresh reinforcements from Australia. Reflecting the composition of the 11th, the 51st was predominantly composed of men from Western Australia. The battalion became part of the 13th Brigade of the newly formed 4th Australian Division. Arriving in France on 12 June 1916, the 51st moved into the trenches of the Western Front within a fortnight.

Early in 1917, the battalion participated in the advance that followed the German withdrawal to the Hindenburg Line. Later in the year, the focus of the AIF’s operations moved to the Ypres sector in Belgium, and James Smith joined the ranks. In Belgium the battalion fought in the battle of Polygon Wood between 26 and 27 September. The Third Battle of Ypres was the major British offensive in Flanders in 1917. It was planned to break through the strongly fortified and in-depth German defences enclosing the Ypres salient, a protruding bulge in the British front line, with the intention of sweeping through to the German submarine bases
on the Belgian coast. The battle comprised of a series of limited and costly offensives, but the offensives continued in the hope of draining German manpower. One of the main battles associated with the Third
Battle of Ypres was the First Battle of Passchendaele beginning on 12 October 1917. Private James Smith was killed in action in Belgium on 14 October 1917, presumably as part of the First Battle of Passchendaele. He was reinterred at Aeroplane British Cemetery just northeast of Ypres,
although his original gravesite does not appear to be recorded.

Private James Smith was the brother of Private William Oliver Smith of the 51st Battalion who was killed in action on 24 April 1918 at Villers-Bretonneux in France and of Private Peter Oliver Smith of the 44th
Battalion who returned to Australia on 2 January 1919. Private James Smith was awarded the British War Medal and the Victory Medal.