William (known as Harry) was born in 1890 in Wolumna near Bega, New South Wales, the seventh child and fifth son of George Smith and Sarah Jane Wilson. The family moved to Brisbane when he was a teenager. He enlisted on 22 September 1915 and served  in the 7th Field Ambulance, Australian Imperial Forces. He was mentioned for good and gallant conduct in connection with recent hard fighting round Pozières. On 6 August 1916 he was killed in action by a shell. J. H. Griffiths who was with him later wrote:

"This man and I were out together between the first and second lines of trenches, captured by our boys the previous night, that is on August 4-5th. We were out in the afternoon of the fifth attending to the wounded, and we had two patients, that we were looking after, but one of them was carried away by two stretcher bearers, and the other patient we had in a shell hole. This was at Pozieres. A shell came over and killed Pte Smith who was with me, and also wounded me. The patient had been out from the previous night, and I stayed with him in the shell hole the night of the fifth with Pte W. H. Smith lying dead beside us. The patient died from exhaustion very early next morning, so I was left alone. Pte Smith had asked me previously to take a certain wallet out of his pocket, in order to send to his people in case anything happened to him, and I have worried since, because I could not do it, because I was wounded. ... Pte W.H. Smith was a fine big fellow."

Sadly, his body and the wallet he wanted his mother to have were never retrieved.

The next morning I crawled up to the top of the shell hole and attracted some attention and so got back. Pte W.H. Smith was a fine big fellow.

J. H. Griffiths

Ros Escott