Private William Stephen Smith - 5/520

 

Private Smith’s widowed mother would have received the news about his accidental death in Korea with dismay and disbelief. Mrs. E. Smith was living in Smith’s family home in Mount Hawthorn when the telegram with its brief details arrived in February 1951.

William Stephen Smith was born in Midland Junction in 1929 and in 1950 enlisted for service in the newly formed K-force. He landed in Korea at the end of September 1950 as a private in the 3rd Battalion of the Royal Australian Regiment, (3RAR).  During their first month in Korea 3RAR advanced 400 miles north before being forced to retreat when the Chinese soldiers entered the war on the North Korean side. The harsh Korean winter weather conditions in difficult mountainous terrain made this retreat difficult for the Australian soldiers. In January 1951 3RAR was moving forward again as part of the allies’ counter offensive.


3RAR in position in Korea January 1951
AWM C64046

Private Smith was accidently shot on 4 February 1951. Reports of what happened contain minimal detail. 3RAR’s unit diary for 4 February 1951 notes that a church parade occurred in the morning and that at ‘1700 hours PTE SMITH WS B Coy Died of wounds accidently received’. [i]

Nothing about the incident was reported in the newspapers back home. Smith’s army file is closed, and the reason given is because the file would unreasonably disclose information about the personal affairs of a person. [ii]

Much of the little we know about Smith is contained in the death notices and in memoriam notices placed in The West Australian by his family and friends. Smith was the youngest son of Nell and the late John (Curly) Smith and the brother of Dorothy, John, Mollie, Jim, and Gwen.[iii] His family and friends called him Bill. His friends remembered Bill as ‘one of the boys’.

Smith was buried in what is now the United Nations Memorial Cemetery in Busan, South Korea. His burial report states that he died from a gunshot wound to his abdomen, had a tattoo of a dagger on his right arm and was wearing a sterling silver ring. [iv]  

A year after his death his mother put the following notice in The West Australian [v] –

In fond memory of my son killed in Korea, Feb 4, 1951. I miss you more as days go by, Bill. Inserted by his sorrowing mother.

Hopefully the sterling silver ring belonging to her beloved Bill found its way back to Mrs. Smith and provided some comfort to her.

Private Smith's Grave in UNMCK
https://www.unmck.or.kr/

[i] AWM85 4/26. 3 Battalion The Royal Australian Regiment, February 1951.

[ii] NAA: PP872/1, MKM32037. SMITH, William Stephen - Service Number - 5/520.

[iii] The West Australian, 8 February 1951, p. 24.

[iv] Report of Internment for SMITH WS. https://www.unmck.or.kr

[v] The West Australian, 4 February 1952, p. 25

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