8th Battalion
Killed In Action
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John Patrick Smith (SN 280) was born at Millbrook, east of Ballarat, and enlisted in Ballarat on August 28th 1914. He was 19 years old, single and a labourer. He joined the 8th Infantry Battalion and embarked for overseas service in October on board the Benalla. He landed at Gallipoli in April 1915 but in August he faced a Court Martial after being found asleep while on sentry duty. After Gallipoli he reached France in March 1916. He was wounded in action near Passchendaele in October 1917 and died of his wounds four days later, on November 2nd 1917. He is buried in the Wimereux Communal Cemetery, France.
