First World War Canadian 1914-15 Star – Private Thomas Smyth, 1st Bn. Canadian Expeditionary Force – K.I.A. 1916
1914-15 Star – A-2617 PTE T. SMYTH. 1/CAN:INF:
Thomas Smyth was born on 1 November 1890 at Hebburn, County Durham, the only son of Matthew Smyth, an Irish-born road labourer, and Jane Smyth (née Weatherly) of South Shields. Shortly after his birth the family settled in Hebburn. His mother died in July 1893, when Thomas was three years old, and he was thereafter brought up by his elder sisters, Mary Ann, Sarah, Matilda and Isabella.
At the time of the 1891 Census the family were residing in the Hebburn district of County Durham. By 1901 he was still living in Hebburn. His father, Matthew Smyth, died on 29 June 1908, leaving Thomas effectively orphaned before reaching adulthood.
In April 1909, aged eighteen, Thomas left England to join his sister Mary Ann and her family in Manitoba, Canada. He settled in the Macdonald district of Manitoba and found employment as a general labourer.
On 18 January 1915, at Walkerton, Ontario, he enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force. He was assigned service number A/2617 and initially attached to the 34th Battalion, Canadian Infantry. Sailing to England with the battalion’s first draft in June 1915, he arrived at Shorncliffe Camp, Kent, where he was posted to the 11th Reserve Battalion.
In August 1915 he was sent overseas to France as part of a reinforcement draft to the 1st Battalion, Canadian Infantry (Western Ontario Regiment). He served with the battalion in France and Belgium during the spring fighting of 1916.
On 28 April 1916, aged 24, Private Thomas Smyth was killed in action in the trenches near Mount Sorrel, Belgium. He is buried in Sanctuary Wood Cemetery, Belgium, Special Memorial. His headstone bears the inscription: “FOR GOD, FOR KING AND FOR COUNTRY.”
He is commemorated in Hebburn and recorded on local memorial. In Canada he is remembered on the Canadian Virtual War Memorial, in the Book of Remembrance, and on a memorial in Brant-Argyle Cemetery, Manitoba.
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