| Accession Number | PR04091 |
|---|---|
| Collection type | Private Record |
| Record type | Collection |
| Measurement | Extent: .5 cm; Wallet/s: 1 |
| Object type | Letter |
| Maker |
Smith, James Henry Robert |
| Place made | French Mandate for Syria and Lebanon, French Mandate for Syria and Lebanon: Syria |
| Date made | 1941 |
| Access | Open |
| Conflict |
Second World War, 1939-1945 |
| Copyright |
Item copyright: Copyright expired - public domain
|
| Copying Provisions | Copyright expired. Copying permitted subject to physical condition. Permission for reproduction not required. |
Smith, James Henry Robert (Private, b.1908-d.1943)
Description
Collection relating to the Second World War service of TX2214 Private James Henry Robert Smith, 2/3 Machine Gun Battalion, Second Australian Imperial Force, Syria, 1941.
Wallet 1 of 1 – Consists of one letter from Private Smith to his daughter, Beverly Smith. In his letter, written from the Middle East on 2 August 1941, Private Smith writes about sending a parcel home and the apparel of the local people. He also encourages Beverly to continue with her schooling and to help her mother.
History / Summary
James Henry Robert Smith enlisted to the Second Australian Imperial Force on 5 June 1940. He was initially posted to 2/2 Machine Gun Battalion, but transferred to 2/3 Machine Gun Battalion in October 1940. He embarked for overseas service in April 1941, and served with 2/3 Machine Gun Battalion in Palestine and Syria in the campaign against the Vichy French. In early 1942, he and his battalion were posted to Batavia, Java, to defend the island against the Japanese. In March 1942 the Allied forces on Java surrendered to the Japanese. Smith, alongside the remainder of his battalion, became a prisoner of war, and worked on the Thai-Burma Railway. On 19 July 1943, Smith died of cholera at the Hintok Mountain camp, Thailand. He is buried at Kanchanaburi War Cemetery, Thailand.