3rd Battalion, Canadian Infantry
Edward Smith was born in Randwick village on 11 December 1878, the son of Levi and Prudence Smith. In 1881 the family was living in The Lagger (just off Randwick Playing Fields). Edward is listed in the census as the fourth of five children, ranging from 13 years down to four months. His father’s occupation was given as a woollen cloth weaver.
By 1891, the family was still the same size and still living in The Lagger. Edward’s occupation (at age 13) is given as a tailor’s apprentice, while two of his older brothers were gig drivers and another a cloth worker.
There appears to be no record of Edward in the 1901 Census, so perhaps he had already emigrated to Canada, or was fighting in the Boer war. He did claim previous military experience when he enrolled into the Canadian Army. It is possible that he emigrated sometime in the years 1905-07.
At the beginning of the 20th Century, the Canadian government actively sought immigrants to boost the economy. New Canadians were encouraged to move to the west to settle and farm the wide tracts of the Prairies. The lure of a new life and new opportunities resulted in a million and a half British people arriving in Canada in the early 1900s. They represented 40% of all immigrants and Edward Smith was most likely one of these. Special immigrant ships were laid on and in some cases certain shipping lines specialised in transporting the vast numbers to their chosen new country. Certainly for the Smith family, employed in the declining cloth industry of the Stroud valleys, raising the passage fee for Edward would likely to have been a major undertaking.
Edward Smith enrolled into the Canadian Army 26 July 1915 in Toronto, Ontario and after a period of training was posted to the 3rd Battalion, Canadian Infantry, who were at Norwich in England, in readiness for service in France. It is estimated that maybe up to 60% of recruits into the Canadian Army at this time were immigrants signing up to fight for the ‘Old Country’. Amongst the details he gave on his enrolment form were his date of birth as 12 November 1884, which was six years later than his actual date (probably to avoid rejection on account of age), his occupation as ‘garment work and his next of kin as Levi Smith (father) of Randwick, Stroud, Gloucestershire. He is described as being 5 foot 7 inches tall, with a chest of 34½ inches fully expanded, a fair complexion, grey eyes and brown hair. His religion is given as Church of England. He had no distinctive marks, marks indicative of congenital diseases or previous diseases. The question of marriage was initially answered ‘yes’ but this was then heavily overwritten with ‘no’.
Within two months it became clear that Edward was unwell and diagnostic tests were carried out at two hospitals before he was sent to Lakenham Military Hospital on 17 June 1916. It had been discovered that he had valvular disease of the heart.
He was sent to 18 Shorncliffe Road, Folkestone, one of the many private homes provided by the people of the town and turned into small support hospitals staffed by Canadian or voluntary aid personnel. Interestingly this was an establishment normally reserved for officers but perhaps because of his age (38) he was given special treatment?
He died there on 6 October 1916. His parents, as next of kin, would have been asked where they would like him to be taken for burial and would appear to have chosen their local parish churchyard. So their boy came home.
The grave of Private Edward Smith in Randwick Churchyard has a standard white stone CWGC headstone, which bears the maple leaf emblem. The epitaph reads: ‘140188 Private E Smith, 3rd Bn Canadian Inf., 6th October 1916. A life laid down for friends’.
Researched by Graham Adams 9 January 2012
This piece was written for the website of the Randwick Scout Group (www.randwickscouts.org.uk), using information supplied by ‘Ancestry’, Sue Francis of the Randwick Historical Society and the Canadian Great War Project. There is also an interesting article obtainable via www.historyjournal.co.uk/home/the-lone-canadian .