Memorial medalet : Private E Smith, 36 Battalion, AIF

Sterling silver memorial medal. The obverse depicts three Australian soldiers charging with fixed bayonets. They are watched over by a goddess figure who is writing on a scroll with her right hand and holding a wreath aloft in her left. A sun is shown setting in the background. The reverse of the medal shows a scroll surrounded by a wreath surmounted by the Australian coat of arms. Around the edge are the words 'HE HEARD HIS COUNTRY'S CALL' with small maker's marks at the base. The scroll is engraved with the words 'A Tribute from THE CITIZENS OF LIDCOMBE To the Memory of PTE. A. SMITH KILLED ON ACTIVE SERVICE 1917'.

This medallion, although marked with the name 'PTE A SMITH' is associated with the service and death of Edgar Smith, a school teacher from Sydney. On 5 February 1916, aged 19, Smith enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force. Assigned the number 876 and the rank of Private he sailed in May with C Company, 36 Battalion aboard HMAT Beltana. At daybreak on October 11 or 12 1917 Smith, serving in the bombing section of C Company, advanced into battle near Passchendaele. Sheltering initially in a shell hole with three other bombers, Smith was hit when the group moved forward. He died from his wounds on 15 October and was buried at the Nine Elms Cemetery near Poperinghe, Belgium.