SMITH’S ‘GALLANT BEHAVIOUR ON BATTLEFIELD’ PART OF ‘WAR AND REMEMBRANCE’ TALK TUESDAY
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com
GRAVENHURST — A “gallant” Gravenhurst soldier — twice wounded while leading his men across “no man’s land” into an enemy trench in 1917 before dying — is among local war heroes being remembered next Tuesday.
Sergeant Frederick Smith, 26, was in charge of a party of Canadian soldiers attacking the Germans from the left flank in Calonne, France.
“Though wounded in the leg while crossing ‘No man’s land,’ he continued to lead his men into the enemy trench,” reads a commendation that led to him posthumously receiving a Military Medal for valour. “The example set to his men, half of whom had never been over the parapet previously, had a far-reaching effect.
“In addition to this, (that same day) he led a bombing attack on a German post, which was putting up a stiff resistance and carried on with his duties until fainting on being wounded a second time.”
Smith was dead within 24 hours.
Remembrance week begins with the Gravenhurst Archives and the Gravenhurst Library presenting ‘War and Remembrance,’ another of their popular local history talks.
Historian and archives chair Judy Humphries will again be providing an hour-long presentation, which focuses on some of the almost 570 “citizen soldiers” from the town and townships surrounding it who gave their lives in the Great War of 1914-1918.
The presentation will take place Tuesday, Nov. 8 at 7 p.m. — both in person and on Zoom. Afterwards it will be available on YouTube through the library’s website.
“We love being able to collaborate with the Archives to bring many different pieces of Gravenhurst’s history to the community,” said librarian Julia Reinhart. “The presentations are always very well attended, whether they are in person or virtual. Gravenhurst has a very rich history that includes much more than just the Prisoner of War (PoW) camp, or the lumber mills. We love having the opportunity to share a glimpse into Gravenhurst’s past.”
Humphries says: “The young men who were born in Gravenhurst and left their homes and families to go to war were ‘citizen soldiers.’ That is, they were not ‘professional’ soldiers who were part of the military.
“Instead, these young men were regular citizens like you and me — farmers, factory workers, labourers, teachers, doctors. They signed up to go without any real sense of where they were going or what they would face. That, in itself, is bravery.”
She says in her presentation that:
Frederick Arthur Smith was born in Gravenhurst on Jan. 22, 1891. He was one of nine children born to John Gilbert Smith and Mary Ann Wright Smith of Morrison Lake.
He trained as an electrician and was working in the Temiskaming district when he signed his attestation papers at Niagara Camp on the 29th of May, 1915 for the 37th Battalion. On the 10th of June he boarded the S.S. Hesperian at Montreal to sail for England.
After only five weeks of evaluation and training, Smith was transferred to the 15th Battalion, the 48th Highlanders, in the field in France.
In May of 1916 he was granted his first leave and on his return he was given his first promotion: he was appointed Acting Lance Corporal on the 12th of May. One month later he was made Acting Corporal and then Corporal on the same day – 30th June 1916.
In early September he suffered a gunshot wound to the left forearm and was sent to the 18th General Hospital at Camiers for treatment. After a brief period of convalescence he returned to the 15th Battalion in the field on the 24th of September. He was appointed sergeant shortly after his return.
On March 3, 1917, Humphries says his “gallant behaviour on the battlefield” earned him a Military Medal for valour — but cost him his life.
The citation for the Military Medal — as listed in the London Gazette April 26, 1917 — reads as follows:
“During a raid on the enemy trenches in Calonne Section on March 2nd, 1917, this N.C.O. was in charge of a party on the left flank. Though wounded in the leg while crossing ‘No man’s land,’ he continued to lead his men into the enemy trench. The example set to his men, half of whom had never been over the parapet previously had a far-reaching effect.
“In addition to this, he led a bombing attack on a German Post which was putting up a stiff resistance and carried on with his duties until fainting on being wounded a second time. His devotion to duty is particularly deserving of merit.”
Humphries says while his wounding was noted in the Gravenhurst Banner, strangely his death was never inscribed on the town’s war memorial.
Smith was buried in the Barlin Communal Cemetery Extension at Barlin, 11 km southwest of Bethune, between the Bethune-Arras Road and the Bethune-St. Pols Road.”
Humphries says Smith’s relatives still live in Gravenhurst.
To see and hear more about Gravenhurst’s First World War heroes the public is invited to register for this event online at: https://calendar.gravenhurst.ca/default/Register/2022-11-08-1900-War-and-Remembrance or call the library at 705-687-3382 to learn how to hook up.
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