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Harry MERCER-SMITH
| Rank | Reg/Ser No | DOB | Enlisted | Discharge/Death | Board |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lance Cpl | 795 | 21y10m | 29 Aug 1914 | 17 Jun 1915 DW | 5 |
Lance Corporal Harry Mercer-Smith (1892 - 1915)
Family background and early life
Harry Mercer-Smith was born at Brisbane on 23 October 1892, son of Sidney Mercer-Smith and Amy Maud (nee Robjohns). His parents were married by the bride’s father, the Rev. Henry T. Robjohns, MA, a Congregational minister and author.
Harry’s father, then Navigating Lieutenant on HMQS Gayundah, the main unit of Queensland’s old naval defence organisation later became Captain Mercer-Smith, Commander, Royal Australian Naval Reserve in the Port of Brisbane. Harry’s mother, like her father, was a writer. The family included an older sister Frances and three sons – Harry, Sydney and Victor. Sir Charles Kingsford Smith was their cousin.
As a student attending Brisbane Grammar School in 1908, Harry was a member of the School Cadet Corps. After apprenticeship in the Department of Posts and Telegraphs, he became a telegraph and telephone engineer. While working in Townsville he was a member of the Rifle Club.
Enlistment and service
Harry received an early service number 795, enlisting in the Australian Imperial Force on 31 August 1914. He joined the 9th Battalion and embarked from Brisbane on HMAT A5 Omrah on 24 September 1914. Early in 1915 he was appointed Lance-Corporal and he took part in the landing at Gallipoli on 25 April. 1915.
Died of wounds - Gallipoli
In May, he was severely wounded twice and was evacuated for medical treatment to Valetta Hospital, Malta where he “died of wounds received in action” on 17 June 1915. Lance Corporal Smith is buried in the Pieta Military Cemetery, Malta.
Harry’s two younger brothers also served in the Great War of 1914 – 1918. In a letter to the Department of Army, Canberra, in March 1967, Harry’s sister, Mrs Frances Bowerman of Mackay, Queensland, claimed the Anzac Medallion and Badge “about to be issued”. She wrote:
“My parents died many years ago and I am the eldest of the family, only one younger brother also survives.”
The 9th Australian Battalion Memorial in Anzac Square honours the hundreds, Harry Smith among them, who gave their lives:
“IN EVERLASTING MEMORY
OF 45 OFFICERS AND 1049 OTHER RANKS
OF THE 9TH BATTALION A.I.F.
WHO LAID DOWN THEIR LIVES
IN THE GREAT WAR 1914 – 1919
FOR KING AND EMPIRE.
THIS MONUMENT IS PLACED
IN THE CAPITAL CITY OF THEIR LAND
THAT WHAT THEY DID
MAY NOT BE FORGOTTEN
BY THEIR COUNTRYMEN.”
• Brisbane Grammar School Archives, The Golden Book
• The Brisbane Courier, 25 January 1890, page 4; 17 August 1933, page 20
• Australian War Memorial, Roll of Honour and other records
Prepared by Noel Adsett, Brisbane. July 2014 ©
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