The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (281) Samuel Stanley Smith, 5th Australian Light Horse Regiment, AIF, First World War.

The Last Post Ceremony is presented in the Commemorative area of the Australian War Memorial each day. The ceremony commemorates more than 102,000 Australians who have given their lives in war and other operations and whose names are recorded on the Roll of Honour. At each ceremony the story behind one of the names on the Roll of Honour is told. Hosted by Charis May, the story for this day was on (281) Samuel Stanley Smith, 5th Australian Light Horse Regiment, AIF, First World War.

281 Samuel Stanley Smith, 5th Australian Light Horse Regiment, AIF
KIA 29 November 1915
Photograph: P06823.001

Story delivered 27 January 2016

Today we remember and pay tribute to Trooper Samuel Stanley Smith.

Born in Port Macquarie in New South Wales, Smith was working as a labourer at Billinudgel on the Brunswick River when he enlisted with the 5th Australian Light Horse Regiment on 20 October 1914.

The 5th, 6th, and 7th Light Horse Regiments made up the 2nd Light Horse Brigade. Smith sailed with his regiment for Egypt on HMAT Persic on 21 December, arriving in Egypt the following February.

The light horse were considered unsuitable for the initial operations on Gallipoli, but were subsequently deployed there without their horses to reinforce the infantry. The 2nd Light Horse Brigade landed in late May 1915 and was attached to the 1st Australian Division. The 5th Light Horse Regiment played a defensive role for most of the campaign but was involved in several minor attacks.

In early October Smith became ill and spent several weeks in hospital in Cairo. He returned to his unit in November, where it was occupying a section of Anzac known as Wilson’s Lookout. In late November the regiment was moved to Ryrie’s Post, and the following day it snowed for the first time on the peninsula. On 29 November the enemy shelled nearby Poppy Valley and Chatham’s Post heavily. Smith was killed in action this day, but there is no record in the unit or brigade diary of how this occurred.

Smith was buried the next day in Shell Green Cemetery. He was 27 years old.

Trooper Samuel Smith’s name is listed on the Roll of Honour on my right, among the more than 60,000 Australians who died in the First World War. His photograph is displayed today beside the Pool of Reflection.

This is but one of the many stories of service and sacrifice told here at the Australian War Memorial. We now remember Trooper Samuel Stanley Smith, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Emma Campbell
Writer, Military History Section