Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

From François Berthout

Private 2794 Smith Brook

Under the poppies of the Somme which wave in the wind, rest in peace, for eternity, a whole generation of young men who fought and who fell here, in the trenches and the battlefields of the north of France on which, with bravery and determination they gave their youth and their lives in the name of freedom and justice for which, together, for their country, they gave their everything and sleep peacefully under the rows of their white graves between which grow the poppies that , red as blood, remind us of what so many men did for us and which, in our hearts, will always be remembered and cherished with love and respect.

Today, it is with the greatest gratitude that I would like to honor the memory of one of these men who gave his life for us on the battlefields of the Somme, I would like to pay a very respectful tribute to the Private number 2794 Smith Brook who fought in the 44th Australian Infantry Battalion and who died of his wounds 103 years ago, on March 29, 1918 at the age of 41 on the Somme front.

Smith Brook was born on May 24, 1876 in Halifax, England, and was the son of Joseph and Eliza Brook. Very young, Smith and his parents left England to live in Australia and moved to North Perth, Vincent, Western Australia.Smith was educated at Sydney Public School, New South Wales and after his studies he lived at 460 Fitzgerald Street, North Perth, Western Australia where he worked as a bootmaker and where he met his future wife whom he married, Mary Brook.

Enlisted on October 9, 1916 at Perth, Western Australia, in the 44th Australian Infantry Battalion, 6th Reinforcement, C Company, 12th Platoon, he embarked with his unit from Fremantle, Western Australia, on board HMAT A34 Persic on December 29, 1916 and sailed for England where he was disembarked on March 3, 1917 in Devonport and sent to Larkhill Camp to receive his training on the Salisbury Plain in the 11th Training Battalion. On March 25, 1917, Smith was admitted to Fargo Hospital suffering from Influenza where he remained until April 6 before joining the 11th Training Battalion to continue training.Five months later, on September 10, 1917, he embarked with the 44th Australian Infantry Battalion from Southampton and sailed for France where he arrived the next day, on September 11 at Rouelles and was taken on strength on September 22 on the Somme front where he was wounded for the first time in his right knee and nose on October 17 and was evacuated to Rouen on October 19 and then to Buchy on December 3. In addition to his injuries, Smith suffered from bronchitis and remained in the hospital until January 1, 1918.
Twelve days later, on January 13, 1918, Smith joined his battalion on the Somme front in the Villers-Bretonneux sector in Sailly-Le-Sec where he fought with great courage but unfortunately it was in this sector, between Sailly-le-Sec and Sailly-Laurette that, two months later, Smith met his fate.

On March 28, 1918, during an attack between Sailly-Le-Sec and Sailly-Laurette, Smith was severely wounded by a machine gun bullet in his arm and was immediately evacuated to the nearest casualty dressing station but while he was carried, he was wounded by a second bullet in his leg then in the groin and died the next day, on March 29, 1918 due to too much blood loss, he was 41 years old.
Smith was first buried on the battlefield near Sailly-Le-Sec, but three weeks later his body was exhumed by his comrades and was buried with honor and respect in Villers-bretonneux.

Today Smith Brook rests in peace with his friends, comrades and brothers in arms at Villers-Bretonneux Military Cemetery, Somme, and his grave bears the following inscription "He died fighting for his country".
Smith, Sir, you who rest today in peace alongside your comrades and who gave your life for your country and for France for which, united with your brothers in arms, have done so much,I would like, with deep respect, to thank you from the bottom of my heart for all that you and your comrades have done and sacrificed for my country, in the mud and in the trenches of the Somme in which so many men as brave as you gave their innocence, their youth, their today and their lives for our tomorrow. in the hell of the Somme, they fought and served with conviction and determination under the clouds of a world on the brink of destruction under a hail of ammunition spewing death and annihilation on a whole generation of men who answered to the call of duty without hesitation to fight in the name of their convictions.Under firestorms and clouds of poisonous gas, their knees and bodies deep in the mud, they endured hell on earth with their heads held high and with confidence in the hopes of a better world and it is together, united in bonds of brotherhood and camaraderie that they faced adversity in the strength of their unity under incessant rains of bullets and cold steel which machine guns and rifles poured upon them at an infernal rate which mowed down, in the prime of life, in the mud of the trenches and among the poppies of the battlefields, a whole generation of men who moved forward in tight rows under the dismal rumbling of the cannons under which they were swept but not stopped, together, under the weak protection of their steel helmets, they continued to advance under the bullets, through the barbed wire in which, stuck and unable to move, their lives were taken too soon. In the howls, their bayonets forward, they charged bravely, their eyes turned to their fate.In the brutality of war, despite unimaginable bloodbaths, they never backed down and shed their blood for every meter they gained, for every trenches they conquered, in blood and in tears, in the suffering engendered by war , these young men did their duty with admirable courage and showed the determination of a whole generation who fought with honor for the peace we have today thanks to them and who, always united in eternal rest,still stand proudly through the fields of poppies and the rows of their white graves that the sun put in its light.they were young and brave and here in the Somme more than a million of them fell, many have no known graves but all, here, on the soils of this friendly country, will be remembered and cherished with the greatest respect and their memories, their stories, will always be kept alive with the greatest care and it is with devotion, the same devotion with which they fought, that I would watch over them so that their names and their faces live forever , the flame of Remembrance will shine forever, day after day, season after season, they will never be condemned by the weight of the years and will never be forgotten because in our hearts and in our thoughts, I know that they will never cease to live and will always be remembered with the love and respect they all deserve. Thank you Smith, for everything.At the going down of the sun and in the morning,we will remember him,we will remember them.