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Wartime Heritage
ASSOCIATION
Remembering World War I
Yarmouth Connections
Frederick Smith
Force:
Army
Regiment:
Canadian Railway Troops
Battalion:
256th Railway Construction Battalion/10th Battalion, Canadian Railway Troops
Regimental Number:
1099379
Rank:
Sapper
Date of Birth:
August 30, 1898
Place of Birth:
Yarmouth, N.S.
Date of Enlistment:
February 3, 1917
Place of Enlistment:
Yarmouth, N.S.
Address at Enlistment:
Yarmouth, N.S.
Age at Enlistment:
19
Height: 5 feet, 5 inches
Prior Military Experience:
29th Battery, CFA, Yarmouth N.S.
Trade:
Teamster
Marital Status:
Married
Religion:
Roman Catholic
Next of Kin:
(Wife) Mrs. Frederick Smith, Main St., Yarmouth N.S.
Frederick was the son of Mr. and Mrs Edgar J. Smith of Yarmouth, N.S. He enlisted at Yarmouth with the 256th Railway Construction Battalion;
however, served in France with the 10th Canadian Railway Troops.
Date of Death:
October 23, 1917
Age at Death:
20
Cemetery:
Ridge Wood Military Cemetery, Belgium
Plot: I. U. 5.
Ridge Wood Military Cemetery
Ridge Wood was the name given to a wood standing on high ground
between the Kemmel road and Dickebusch Lake.
The cemetery lies in a hollow on the western side of the ridge and
the position was chosen for a front line cemetery as early as May 1915. The
first graves were from the 2nd Royal Irish Rifles and similar groups were
made by the 18th, 19th, 20th and 21st Canadian Battalions and the 9th
Durham Light Infantry at the times when they occupied this sector.
The cemetery contains 619 Commonwealth burials of WWI.
Commemorated on Page 328 of the First World War Book of Remembrance
Displayed in the Memorial Chamber of the Peace Tower in Ottawa on July 17
Listed on the St. Ambrose Church Tablet, Yarmouth, N.S.
Commemorated on the Yarmouth Monument; listed as “Edgar J. Smith”
Sources:
Library and Archives Canada (Attestation Paper)
Commonwealth War Grave Commission
Commonwealth War Grave Commission (Cemetery Information)
Canadian Great War Project
Veterans Affairs Canada
Additional Information:
“A Monument Speaks” A Thurston; 1989 (p 311)
Sapper Frederick Smith
Attestation Paper
(click to enlarge)
Dear Mrs. Smith:
It is with a great deal of sadness that I now extend to you and Mr. Smith my deepest sympathy for the loss of your
son, Fred. It is very sad indeed to think that one so young and so devoted to duty should be one of those to fall, yet it is
good to know that he died while at work under very great odds.
He was killed doing his bit. The end cam instantaneously so you may rest assured that there was no long suffering.
He proved himself a good soldier - an honest willing and devoted worker.
Although he was smaller and not nearly so strong as the rest, he did his work cheerfully and was a friend to all.
The body was laid away in a military cemetery Somewhere in France, A Roman Catholic Chaplain officiating.
...
J. R. Parrott
10th Canadian Railway Troops