Issy Smith VC (18 September 1890 – 10 September 1940) was a British-Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross (VC), the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to eligible forces of the Commonwealth and United Kingdom. In recognition of his VC, he was also awarded the French Croix de Guerre and Russian Cross of St. George (4th class) by the respective governments.
Born Ishroulch Shmeilowitz (and other renderings), to parents residing in Turkey, Smith travelled to Britain as a child stowaway and enlisted in the British Army in 1904. He emigrated to Australia after he had transferred to the reserve, where he remained until mobilised as a reservist in 1914. As a corporal in the 1st Battalion, The Manchester Regiment, Smith was engaged in the Second Battle of Ypres. On 26 April 1915, Smith, on his own initiative, recovered wounded soldiers while exposed to sustained fire and attended to them "with the greatest devotion to duty regardless of personal risk".[5] His conduct secured a recommendation for the Victoria Cross, which was awarded to Smith in August 1915.[5]
After his demobilisation, Smith returned to Australia with his wife and daughter. He became a prominent figure in Melbourne's Jewish community, was appointed a Justice of the Peace, and unsuccessfully stood as a candidate for the United Australia Party in the 1931 general election.[6]
Smith was born in Constantinople,[1] the son of Moses (1822-1907) and Eva Shmeilowitz (1845-1934), who were of Russian empire Jewish origin. They met in Berdychiv and later relocated to Odessa.[7] They left Rostov-on-Don in 1888 for Turkey.[8] They relocated to Egypt at the start of the 1900s.[9] Although it was alleged his father was employed by the French Consulate-General as a clerk in Egypt, 'this has to be completely false. Moses would have been nearly 80 years of age by the time he took the job - and he spoke no French' [10] Eva worked as a seamstress, and Moses worked a sewing machine. It is not clear what other work he obtained.[11][a]
Aged 11, Smith embarked as a stowaway aboard a vessel proceeding to London, where his elder brothers had migrated to. Undaunted by this unfamiliar environment, Smith attended Berner Street School, Commercial Street, London, and worked as a deliverer in the East End,[13] then an impoverished ghetto where Yiddish was the predominant spoken language.[14] Persecution and extreme deprivation had compelled millions of Eastern European Jews to migrate to Western Europe, the Americas, and elsewhere. By the time of Issy Smith's arrival, Jewish immigration to Britain had peaked but was curtailed by the enactment of the Aliens Act in 1905.[15]
It was theorised that the pseudonym Issy Smith was adopted, in the process of enlisting, at the behest of a recruiting sergeant.[16] This legend has been dismissed as apocryphal, as this surname was already used by his brothers Jacob and Joseph and Morris who lived in London.[17] He joined the militia on 21 April 1904, giving a declared age of 17 years, 8 months. He was working as a plumber, living in Manchester.[18] He enlisted under regular terms of service in the British Army on 2 September 1904, giving a declared age of 18 years, joining as a Private in the Manchester Regiment. Smith completed his training, later serving in South Africa and India with the 1st Battalion.[19] At the time of the 1911 census, he was stationed at Kamptee Cantonment in the Nagpur division within India.[20] He boxed competitively. He was the middleweight champion of his battalion.[21] He entered the 1911 Delhi Durbar boxing competition, but was eliminated in the second round on points.[22] A tailor's copy of the Delhi Durbar Medal (1911) was among his mounted medals.[23]
He was discharged to the army reserve in 1912, after eight years of service with the colours.[19] A newspaper article states that upon returning to London from India, he was greeted at the railway station by his brother, accompanied by Elsie, who would later become his wife.[4] (Elsie's sister would marry Alfred Burley, a colleague of Issy in the same battalion.[24]) Smith emigrated to Australia, after brief employment in London, in April 1914.[4] He lived in the Melbourne suburb of Ascot Vale while working for the city's gas company.[25]
Given that he was retained as a reservist until 1 September 1916, for the remainder of his 12 year engagement, Smith was mobilised by the British Army after the commencement of hostilities in August 1914. Some contemporary newspaper articles sources state that Smith was present at the capture of German New Guinea by the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force.[b][21][22][4] This is unlikely as there is nothing stated within official documentation to support this claim.[27][19]
He reported for duty at Victoria Barracks, Melbourne,[4] headquarters (3rd Military District), on 10 August, and embarked SS Miltiades on 21 October 1914.[28][27] He arrived in Britain, and was posted to the regimental depot in December 1914.[19] He was duly posted to the 3rd (Reserve) Battalion on 6 January 1915.[19] The 3rd (Reserve) Battalion was at Cleethorpes.[22] The 3rd (Reserve) Battalion was a pool of trained men, from which reinforcements were sent to the Western Front.[29] On 23 February 1915 he disembarked in France.[19] After spending time at Rouen, he was posted to the front on 9 March 1915.[22]
Having actively engaged in the battles of Givenchy and Neuve Chapelle, the 1st Manchesters had already incurred hundreds of casualties by the beginning of "Second Ypres" on 22 April 1915.[30] Chemical warfare first emerged on the Western Front during the German offensive, and Smith himself would be temporarily incapacitated by gas. The 1st Manchesters were involved in an initially successful counter-attack conducted by the Jullundur and Ferozepore brigades on 26 April 1915, near Wieltje, in conjunction with other Allied units.[31] Rudimentary forms of protection against the chlorine gas proved ineffectual, limiting the advance and causing many soldiers to succumb to its effects.[30][31]
During the Allied counter-attack, Smith, of his own volition, ventured towards a German position to attend to a severely wounded soldier. He carried him some 250 yards (230 m) to relative safety while exposed to intense German fire. According to the Victoria Cross citation, he brought in "many more wounded men" throughout the day under similarly perilous conditions "regardless of personal risk".[5] Recounting his own rescue by Smith to a Daily Mail correspondent, Sergeant Rooke said of the corporal: "He behaved with wonderful coolness and presence of mind the whole time, and no man deserved a Victoria Cross more thoroughly than he did".[22]
Smith was gassed in April and May 1915.[c][4] In June, he was being treated at No. 6 Stationary Hospital at Le Havre.[32] Smith's service record suggests that he was medically evacuated from France in August 1915.[19] Smith was hospitalised in Dublin, Ireland, where he recuperated from his gassing.[33][d] His Victoria Cross was later presented to him at Buckingham Palace by King George V.[34][35][e] He was feted by publications such as The Jewish Chronicle, and his status as a recipient of the VC was utilised by the British government for the purposes of stimulating further recruitment. His visits to Jewish communities in the United Kingdom generated much interest, attracting dignitaries and large crowds in the process.[37][38][39] On one such occasion, in September 1915, he was invited back to his old school in the East End to receive a gold watch and chain in honour of his Victoria Cross.[40] Also that month, Smith was received at Mansion House, Dublin, by the Under-Secretary for Ireland, Matthew Nathan, who took advantage of the occasion to reaffirm loyalty to both Britain and Ireland.[41] Contemporaries, however, continued to report instances of discrimination against Jewish servicemen, including an incident involving Issy Smith in Leeds.[42] While documenting his recruitment drive, The Jewish Chronicle reported that the proprietor of the Grand Restaurant had refused to serve Smith during his tour of Yorkshire because he was Jewish, while indicating the staff were prepared to accept his non-Jewish acquaintance.[43] Smith's tour continued otherwise without disruption, taking him to Edinburgh, Scotland. His appointed rank changed from Acting Lance Corporal to unpaid Acting Lance Sergeant on 5 October 1915, then he was promoted to Sergeant on 7 March 1916.[19] His partial recovery from gassing meant that, for accounting purposes, he was taken on the strength of the 3rd (Reserve) Battalion from 15 December 1915, as opposed to the Depot, which was associated with hospitalised men.[19] It was during 1916 that he participated in charity boxing matches.[44][45]
Meanwhile, on the Western Front, the demoralised and depleted Indian Corps fought its final European battle at Loos.[46] With the exception of two cavalry divisions, the Indian Corps in Europe redeployed to the Middle East theatre, sailing from Marseilles on 10 December 1915 and arriving in Basra on 8 January 1916 to be integrated into the Mesopotamian Expeditionary Force.[47]
Smith returned to active duty as a sergeant. He was posted to the 1st Battalion on 4 September 1916, serving in Mesopotamia. Within a fortnight of arriving at Basra, he was hospitalised with malaria.[48] After the capture of Baghdad on 11 March 1917, Smith's nose was broken by a shell during the subsequent fighting.[49] He transferred to the Royal Engineers on 1 April 1917.[19] He was granted leave, which he took in Egypt in May 1917, and is understood to have seen his family.[50] He was hospitalised on 5 August 1917, accidentally receiving a large cut to his right knee whilst on duty.[51] A letter sent by Smith in 1940 gave an outline of his service history. He took part in the fall of Baghdad, was transferred to the IWT branch of the Royal Engineers, and was redeployed to Palestine. [f] In January 1918, he was treated at Port Said for emphysema. He was hospitalised at the start of September, and was discharged on 19 September 1918.'[53] He was discharged from hospital on 21 November 1918, and returned to Cairo.[54] He had been wounded five times, according to the Australian Dictionary of Biographies.[16] A contemporary newspaper article states it was four times.[55] The family are in possession of the four wound stripes that he wore on his uniform, which can be seen on his wedding photo.[56] Smith embarked at Port Said on 17 January 1919. Upon returning to Britain in February 1919, he got married, and was discharged from the army on 30 April 1919.[19]
Demobilised after the war, Smith returned to London. As a war hero, he was intermittently invited to social functions. In June 1920, he attended a garden party at Buckingham Palace, given by the king for all surviving Victoria Cross recipients. They included veterans of the Indian Mutiny, Rorke's Drift, Relief of General Gordon, the First and Second Boer Wars, countless campaigns on the borders of the empire, and dozens from the Great War.[57] In October 1921, with Harry Kenny, he unveiled the Hackney War Memorial.[58] In 1922, he attended "The Pilgrimage to Ypres", in Belgium, laying a wreath at the Cloth Hall there.[59]
Despite his fame and popularity, like many former servicemen contending with post-war economic hardship, Smith struggled financially – a predicament compounded by illness.[60] As a consequence he pawned his medals for £20, only for them to be recovered by the Jewish Historical Society on the urging of the wife of Chief Rabbi Joseph Hertz and ultimately reunited with Smith.[61][62] Smith's varied occupations in post-war Britain included work as an actor with a theatre troupe.[63] He had married his wife Elsie (née McKechnie) at Camberwell Register Office, followed by a formal ceremony held at Central Synagogue, Hallam Street, as an observance of Jewish religious tradition.[64] Whether there was disapproval by the family, this is not known.[65] The family relocated from Camberwell to Hackney later that year.[66] The marriage to Elsie produced two children (Olive and Maurice, born 1919 and 1932 (died 2020) respectively). He emigrated to Australia in 1927.[67]
The family settled in Moonee Ponds, Melbourne, where Smith's standing in the Jewish community became high. There he joined the Essendon sub branch of the Returned and Services League of Australia (RSL).[68] In 1928, he was appointed manager of British International Pictures in Melbourne, and then worked for Dunlop Rubber Company. His final job was with the Civil Aviation Board at Essendon Airport. Appointed a Justice of the Peace in 1930, Smith tried politics as a candidate in the 1931 federal election for the United Australia Party, contesting the seat of Melbourne in the House of Representatives, and "seriously challenged the hitherto unassailable Dr Maloney".[6][69]
On 20 February 1940, he sent a letter, to apply to join the Second Australian Imperial Force. A Major Barrett replied, to advise there were presently no suitable vacancies, but if he could provide the particulars of his army service and age, for future guidance, it would be appreciated. He sent a response to the Major, dated 4 March 1940, a copy of which is with the family. He stated that his date of birth was 18th September 1890.[70]
Smith died of coronary thrombosis on 10 September 1940.[2] He was buried in the Jewish section of Fawkner Cemetery with full military honours. His medals were sold by his family in 1990, and auctioned 5 years later as part of a special collection of Medals to the Manchester Regiment, selling for £35,288 (US$75,000).[23][62]
Following representations from the Association of Jewish Ex-Servicemen and Women,[71] Communities Secretary Eric Pickles announced in September 2013 that the plan, to memorialise the 482 British-born First World War Victoria Cross medal holders by laying commemorative paving stones in their home towns, would be extended to the 145 born overseas include Smith. At the time of the announcement, it was believed he was born in Egypt.[72] He is commemorated in Rope Walk Gardens, a few minutes walk away from the location of Berners Street School in Whitechapel.[73]
His Imperial Majesty the Emperor of Russia has been graciously pleased to confer, with the approval of His Majesty the King, the undermentioned rewards for gallantry and distinguished service in the Field :— Cross of the Order of Saint George, 4th Class.
Auctioned on 10 October 1995
He got a job with the Metropolitan Gas Company and boarded with Joseph Tallents who was his Superintendent, at 10 Brisbane St Ascot Vale... Source: RatBag Soldier Saint, Lian Knight 2022
Corporal Issy Smith, the Jewish V.C., who is being treated in the Dublin University V.A.D. Auxiliary Hospital, Mountjoy square, for gas posioning, had a busy time last evening.
A Bermondsey boxer... will have the honour of opening the proceedings in a six rounds bout with Sergt. Issy Smith, the Manchester V.C. hero.
The bridegroom, who has been wounded four times, was in the 1st Battalion of the Manchester Regiment, and he was the second of the five Jews to win the V.C. in the war.
Unveiled shortly before 1 Dec 2015, probably on 23 November 2015