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  

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