10/648 Sgt. William Jesse Smith NZEF
NZEF Trio - 10/648 Smith - Wounded Gallipoli
The 1914/15 Star trio issued to 10/648 William Jesse Smith who was wounded on Gallipoli.
William Smith was born in Hastings, England around 1887. Son of Daniel and Emily Eliza Smith (née Turner). Information on the family is sparse, but by 1913 Smith had come to New Zealand and was residing at Waitara, Taranaki. At the time of his enlistment in the NZEF in August 1914 he was working as a butcher in Waitara. He embarked with 11th (Taranaki) Company, Wellington Infantry Battalion. Smith's service file is incomplete, so full details of his service are not known at time of writing. He will likely have landed on Gallipoli on 25th April and in early June he was wounded and evacuated off the peninsula. He appears to have served extensively on the Western Front with 1st Battalion, Wellington Infantry Regiment.
He married May Clark in 1921 and during the Second World War commanded a battalion of the Hom Guard at Inglewood. William Smith died in Taranaki on 15th August 1965.
The medals are all correctly impressed 10/648 SJT. W.J. SMITH. N.Z.E.F.