Private John Smith

Rest in peace Private John Smith 

‘Step forward now, you soldier,
You’ve borne your burdens well.
Walk peacefully on Heaven’s streets,
You’ve done your time in Hell.

Source: James Bancroft – The Rorkes Drift Men

John Smith was born on 28 December 1851, at Wood’s Houses, Chapel Lane in All Saint’s Parish, Wigan, and he was baptised at All Saint’s parish church on 28 February 1852, where fellow Rorke’s Drift man, William Neville, had also been baptised.

He was the son of John Smith, and his second wife Mary (formerly Hallam). His father was a cotton spinner, and they had married in 1846. A daughter named Ann was born in the year after their marriage.

At the time of the 1851 census the family had moved to Kay’s Cottages at Ince-in-Makerfield, Wigan, where John worked for the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway. However, he was working as a brakes man when he was accidently killed in a railway accident at Trinity Street Station in Bolton on 3 April 1856. A report on his inquest was published in the Bolton Chronicle two days after his death.

Mary and her two children left the family home in Wigan and returned to Bolton, where most of the Smith family had settled, and they rented a house at 1 Shepherd Street, Little Bolton, before moving to lodgings in Waterloo Street in Little Bolton. At the time of the 1861 census they lived at Cellar Stott Court in Bolton, where Mary was a cotton reeler, and Ann was a steam loom weaver. Ann died of kidney failure brought on by Bright’s Disease on 16 December 1867.

Source: Brecon, Royal Regiment of Wales service record

• SMITH, John.                    25B/1005             Private Rorke’s Drift. B coy
• Born c1851 at All Saints, Wigan, Lancashire; trade – labourer. Enlisted for General Service Infantry at Ashton-under-Lyne, Lancashire, 24/12/1876. Previously served in 7th Royal Lancashire Militia. Description: age 25 years, height 5’7½”, fresh complexion, blue eyes, brown hair. Religion: Church of England.  Attested for 25 Brigade at Ashton-under-Lyne, 26/12/1876. Posted to 2nd Battalion 24th Foot.
• Private, 26/12/1876. Granted good conduct pay at 1 penny per diem, 14/4/1879. Admitted to hospital at Pietermaritzburg, 8/7/1879; treated for a sprain, the result of an accident. Examined by a medical board on 6/8/1879 and recommended for a change of climate. Admitted to Netley, 20/9/1879-10/10/1879. Admitted to hospital at Brecon, 22/12/1879-4/2/1880 and treated for a sprained left ankle. Examined by a medical board, 15/2/1880. Recommended for further treatment. Transferred to 1st Class Army Reserve, Bury District, Lancashire, 21/7/1880. Rejoined the colours, 46 Brigade (2nd Battalion Royal West Kent Regiment.) Private (46B/2333), 1/3/1881. Admitted to hospital in Natal, 26/5/1881-31/8/1881; treated for a Hernia. Ruptured on 10/5/1881 on the line of march in Natal when on duty -.attributed to lifting heavy weights. Re-admitted to hospital in Natal, 10/9/1881-6/10/1881. Returned home and admitted to hospital at Dublin, Ireland, 21/3/1882. Examined by a medical board at Dublin on 8/6/1882. Declared unfit for further service.  Discharged on 26/6/1882. Character: good, temperate. Intended place of residence; Bury, Lancashire.
• Served at Home, 26/12/1876-31/1/1878; South Africa, 1/2/1878-19/9/1879; Home, 20/9/1879-4/3/1881; South Africa, 5/3/1881-18/3/1882; Home, 19/3/1882-26/6/1882. Served in the Kaffir War 1878. Served in the Zulu War 1879, a private in B Company at the defence of Rorke’s Drift.  Wounded – assegai contusion of the abdomen at Rorke’s Drift.
• References: Bourne rolls.
• Medal with clasp 1877-8-9.
• Born: c.1851 in All Saints Parish, Wigan, Lancashire, England the son of Sarah Smith, his father was not listed. He was baptised John Smith 5^th May 1851 at Wigan into the Church of England. He was employed as a “General Day Labourer” before his enlistment.
• Military service   Militia service:    7^th Royal Lancashire Militia (dates unknown).
• Regular service:  Enlisted at Aston-under-Lyne, Lancashire 23^rd December 1876. Attested at Aston-under-Lyne 26^th December 1876.
• Description:         Age apparent: 25 years. Height: 5ft 7.1/2ins. Eyes: Blue. Complexion: fresh. hair: Brown. Next of kin: Unknown.
• His enlistment and attestment papers are missing, only his discharge papers are at the Public Records Office, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, England.
• Postings ect: Served in South Africa from the 1^st February 1878. Took part in the 9^th Kaffir Wars.
• John was present at the defence of Rorke’s Drift were he was wounded in the action by an assegai contusion to the abdomen. He was granted good conduct pay of 1d [1/2p] per diem from the 14^th April 1879. He was sent to Pietermaritzburg hospital on the 8^th July for treatment to a sprain, the result of an accident. He was medically examined on the 6^th August and recommended for a change of climate.
• Named on the Bourne Original Roll.
• Named on the Bourne Amended Roll.
• Sent to Netley Military Hospital, Southampton, England. Admitted 20^th September 1879. Returned to duty 10^th October 1879. Admitted to Brecon hospital for a sprained left ankle in December 1879, being discharged in February 1880.
• Discharge:           1005 Private John Smith was discharged to the 1^st Class Army Reserve, Bury District, Lancashire 21St July 1880. Service:  3 years 178 days. Pension: Unknown. WO97/2107.
• Re-enlistment:     Re-enlisted 1^st March 1881 into the 46th Brigade. Held at the depot as a Private General Infantryman awaiting a regiment, number unknown. Posted to South Africa5^th March 1881. Injured by a “Rupture” from lifting heavy weights while on a line of march in Natal, South Africa 10^th May 1881. Hospitalised until the 6^th October 1881. While in hospital he was transferred from “General Depot Duties” to the 2^nd/97^th Royal West Kent Regiment 1^st July 1881, number 46b/2333. Arrived in Ireland late March 1882. Hospitalised at Dublin8^th June 1882, examined by a medical board and declared unfit for further service.
• Discharged:         2333 Private John Smith was finally discharged from the army on the 25^th July 1882 at Dublin, Ireland, as unfit for service due to “Inquinal Hernia”.
• Description:         Age apparent: 30 years 6 months. Height: 5ft 7.1/2ins. Hair: Brown. Eyes: Blue. Complexion: Fair. He had a scar on the forefinger of his right hand also on his forehead and chin. Character: Fair. Three entries in the Regimental defaulter’s book. Service: 5 years 212 days. Pension: 6d [2.1/2p] per diem. Authority 6 Permitted B2 16^th October 1883/24. Chelsea No.99117a. Reserve: None to be served. Intended residence: Bury, Lancashire.
• It is interesting to note that his discharge papers have the following comment, “There is an outstanding claim for compensation for kit lost at Isandlwana, Zululand; ditto for shirt and trousers issued for fatigue work at Fort Melville, Rorke’s Drift; ditto for tunic left by order in [unreadable] at Pietermaritzburg when ordered to the front in October 1878”.
• Decorations & awards       South Africa Medal 25^th September 1877 – 2^nd December 1879 “Clasp 1877-8-9”
• His discharge papers claim he is only entitled to the clasp “1879”?
• Medal was held in the Rev. Hawkes Field Collection.
• Medal auctioned at Dix-Noonan-Webb Thursday 28^th March 2002. Sold to a private collector for £17,000.
• Employment: “Iron Foundry Labourer” in the Bury area of Lancashire.

Source: James Bancroft – The Rorkes Drift Men

He possibly found it difficult to settle into civilian life, as less than eight months later he re-enlisted for the 46th Brigade General Depot Duties, on 1 March 1881, and as 2333 Private Smith, he was sent to join the 2nd battalion, 97th (Royal West Kent) Regiment. Four days later he boarded a ship with his new regiment and was once again on his way to South Africa, where a Boer uprising was causing major problems for the British forces.

He was on the march in Natal on 10 March 1881 when he was lifting something heavy and a hernia in his groin ruptured.  He was admitted to hospital for treatment on 26 May, where he remained until 31 August, being re-admitted on 10 September 1881, for the same problem, remaining there until 6 October, at which point he was shipped back to Dublin and hospitalised on 21 March 1882. He was examined by a medical board on 8 June 1882, and declared unfit for further service due to an inguinal hernia. No further injuries other than those recorded when he joined the army were noted on his papers.

John was discharged from the army in Dublin on 25 June 1882, with a pension of six pence a day, and his papers state that during his service with both regiments he had three entries in the Regimental defaulter’s book, but had never been tried by court marshal. He gave his intended place of residence as Wigan, Lancashire.

He was married to Margaret, and he worked as a hawker. He committed suicide at Heather Railway Station in Leicestershire at the age of 47. He was buried in an unmarked grave at Ashby-de-la-Zouch Cemetery on 11 July 1899 (cemetery 2, grave 763).

Source: Leicester Chronicle

The Leicester Chronicle for 15 July 1899 published the following: ‘The Leicestershire coroner held an inquest on Saturday on a Rorke’s Drift hero named John Smith, an army pensioner, who committed suicide under shocking circumstances. He first attempted suicide by cutting his throat. He was charged and bound over, but afterwards he lay down in front of a train and was shockingly mutilated.’

Attempted Suicide at Ashby (Source: Ashby Times)

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AN OLD SOLDIER CUTS HIS THROAT

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On Tuesday afternoon, John Smith, an aged pedlar and pensioner, living near the Calais, was found in a latrine off Market Street, in the act of cutting his throat with a razor. Without hesitation a man knocked the razor out of Smith’s hand and went to the police station, Sergeant Goldsmith taking Smith into custody. Smith had not seriously injured himself, having merely inflicted a small wound, and it was not deemed necessary to procure medical aid. – On Wednesday, Smith was brought before Mr J German at Ashby Police Court and charged with attempting to commit suicide. – Sergeant Goldsmith gave evidence, stating that he was on duty at the police station when he received information that a man had been found in the act of cutting his throat in the latrine in Union Passage. He found the prisoner there and arrested him. – Smith told the magistrate he was very sorry for the offence, and that it would not occur again. – He was remanded to the Coalville Sessions, and bail in the sum of £5 was accepted for his appearance.

9^th June 1899

A Rorke’s Drift Hero’s Suicide (Source: Leicester Chronicle)

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DEPLORABLE ENDING TO A MILITARY CAREER.

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Mr. Bouskell, district coroner, conducted an inquiry at Heather Station, on Saturday evening, relating to the death of John Smith, an army pensioner and a pedlar, of Ashby-De-La-Zouch, who was killed on the railway near Heather Station on Friday evening. More than ordinary interest attached to the inquiry, since the unfortunate pensioner was charged at Coalville Petty Sessions on June 9^th, with having attempted suicide in Union Passage, Ashby, by cutting his own throat with a razor, but P.S. Goldsmith, of Ashby, explained to the magistrates that the man admitted that he had been drinking, and had had some domestic differences; and, moreover, that the injuries were very slight, mere scratches. The man was bound over in his own (unreadable) in the sum of £5, for three months, and discharged. He appeared very sorry, and afterwards admitted that he was at a loss to know why he attempted to take his life. The Coroner, in opening the inquiry, said that it was a very sad case. The deceased had been in the army 21 years, and had seen a lot of foreign service. – The widow, Margaret Smith, deposed that she lived at 26, Derby Road, Ashby-De-La-Zouch. Deceased was a pedlar, about 53 years of age*. She identified the body as that of her husband, whom she last saw alive when he left home on Wednesday morning last, saying that he was going away towards Tamworth for two or three weeks. He then appeared cheerful. He had served in the 24^th Regiment for over twenty one years, and has seen a deal of foreign service. The hot weather affected him very much indeed. He had a pension of 1s. a day. – The Coroner: Do you remember him doing anything out of the ordinary on the 6^th June this year? – Witness: Mr Holloway (the police superintendent at Ashby) will tell you. – The Coroner, in a kindly manner, intimated to the witness that she had an idea what he was alluding to, and asked: “Did he attempt suicide by cutting his throat on the 6^th of June this year? – Yes sir he did. – Since then, has he been in better spirits? – Yes, sir. – And up to the last three days he’s been pretty cheerful? – Yes, sir. – When did your husband receive his pension? – As far as I can say, about 12 years. The witness evidently misunderstood the question, and the widow said that he received a pension on Saturday (1^st inst). – He has been home every night since? – He went from home last Wednesday. He was at home on Monday and Tuesday and we lived happily together. He was not addicted to drink, and was not in the “drunken line”. – Continuing the witness said that her husband did not intimate his intention to commit suicide. He had a wound on his head received during his service in South Africa.

William Mariott of Rugby, an engine-driver in the employ of the London and North Western Railway, deposed that he was driving the 2.30 luggage train between Rugby and Coalville on Friday. At five o’clock he was driving near No 17 bridge, between Shackerstone and Heather Station, and saw a man lying across the metals. He must have dropped himself over the metals on the farthest side of the line. He (witness) shut off steam and applied the brake, doing his best to stop, but before he could the engine ran over him and about a dozen wagons followed. The engine was right over the deceased suddenly. They saw no one on the line when they were just on the other side of the bridge. The engine was travelling at about thirty miles an hour. He saw the deceased afterwards, lying on the line almost cut in two, and they removed the body. The head and upper part of the body were in the “four-foot”, the body being cut through just under the breast. Witness and others found a hamper and deceased’s hat on it near the bridge. – By the Foreman: Before the train ran over the deceased they saw no one on the line, and witness was of opinion that deceased must have been behind an alotment of the bridge. The engine must have turned the deceased over. – John Jibbert, a platelayer, of Newton, stated that he was working at Shackerstone about five o’clock at the Odstone bridge, when the train passed him, and a quarter of a mile or so further on steam was shut off. Witness hastened, and, catching up the train, saw the deceased as described, and he assisted the driver and fireman in removing the remains. – Dr George Meredith, surgeon, stated that he saw the body shortly after six o’clock at the station. Death was due to the injuries. In witness’s opinion the wound on the deceased’s head, referred to by the widow, and the recent heat, together with the foreign service, affected him.

This concluded the evidence, – The Coroner considered the case clear. It was very distressing, after deceased had fought for his country and had seen so much service. No doubt his mind was affected, and the jury had heard he had been bound over for attempting recently to commit suicide. The recent heat was calculated to affect his brain, following his old wound. He had a good pension, and the case was one for sympathy. The jury, without hesitation, concluded that the deceased committed suicide whilst temporarily insane, and handed their fees to the widow.

In a conversation our representative had with Mr Martin, an aged pensioner of Ashby, who served in the 87^th Regiment (“Faugh a’ Ballaghs) and was an intimate friend of the deceased, it was ascertained the deceased fought in the South African campaign in 1879 and was one of the Rorke’s Drift heroes, when but two companies of the 24^th Regiment escaped slaughter by the Zulus. Deceased was of a retiring disposition, and not disposed to relate his extraordinary experiences, though he expressed to his fellow pensioner that he had a marvellous escape at Rorke’s Drift. It is questionable if any acquaintances of the deceased in Ashby knew of his military career other than Mr Martin and daily he proceeded to various parts of the district as a pedlar of small domestic necessities. He lived in humble but very comfortable circumstances and was recognised as a steady and unoffensive man in Ashby. The wound referred to at the inquest was caused by the deceased being thrown from a waggon in South Africa.

15^th July 1899

John’s story continues into modern day as Members of the Whitwick Royal British Legion pay respects at his now marked grave.

Service of Rededication – Saturday 27th May 2023

The service was led by the Chairs of Whitwick and Ashby Royal British Legions, Phil Beet and John Lynn, Captain Ed Whitehead (Royal Welsh) and minister Andy Smith. Particular attention was brought in the service to the issue of PTSD, a condition recognised now but not in 1899. John was a Victorian soldier suffering with ‘shell shock’ or ‘battle fatigue’ and today he might have received the help that could have saved his life. The headstone, which was covered by the Union flag, was unveiled by both Chairman as Andy Smith read prayers and then the blessing of the grave. A number of wreaths were laid after the unveiling of the headstone by all parties and the Royal Engineers bugler played Last Post as the standards of both Branches dipped and held for the minutes silence.

All concerned hope that the days small gesture helps future generations to remember John and all our brave and tragic young men and women.

Huge thanks must go to Members of The Royal British Legion who worked so hard to bring John Smith back to the fold and to English Rose Memorials (Loughborough) for their overwhelming gesture of generosity in donating the headstone.

A short video of the unveiling is available at https://youtu.be/uJg2GhSufYE