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Papers of Francis Smith
MSS 202

Collection Title

Papers of Francis Smith

Collection Identifier

MSS 202

Inclusive date(s)

1978 to 1979

Extent and Medium

1 box

Category

Military

Collection Description

This collection comprises letters written by Lieutenant Francis Smith to his father, from February 1878 when he first served in South Africa with the 90th (Perthshire Volunteers) Light Infantry until May 1879.

Administrative / Biographical history

Francis Smith was born on the 14th August 1854 and died in 1915?. He was promoted to lieutenant on the 2nd December 1874, captain on the 29th September 1880 and major on the 23rd May 1892, and retired from the military on the 7th April 1897. He served with the 90th (Perthshire Volunteers) Light Infantry from 2nd December 1874, Scottish Rifles from 29th September 1880, and The Buffs (East Kent Regiment) from 19th July 1882. His staff service included Adjutant, Volunteers from 1st November 1887 to 31st October 1892.

Major Smith served in South Africa from February 1878 to May 1879, including in the operations against the Galekas in 1877-1878, and in the engagement at Kambula where he was severely wounded in the arm when he, Captain Aubrey Maude and 2nd Lieutenant Henry Lysons rescued a wounded soldier. He was mentioned in despatches, and awarded the South Africa Medal (with clasp).

References:
The new annual army list, militia list, and yeomanry cavalry list, for 1894
The official army list, January 1894
The quarterly army list, April 1915
Anglo-Zulu War : Battle of Khambul . Retrieved from the History net 24 September 2009.

Acquisition Details

The collection was purchased from Julian Browning in April 1985.

System of arrangement

The collection has been arranged in box then folder order.

Access Restrictions

Other

The collection is available for research.

Reproduction Restrictions

No copying is permitted without the permission of the copyright owners.

Existence and Location of Orginals

Special Collections, UNSW Canberra

Disclaimer

This collection contains a variety of copyright material. Copyright is held by the creator of each item. Specific conditions for this collection are listed above. If no conditions are stipulated then the standard terms of the Copyright Act apply for published and unpublished items. Digitised material from manuscript collections is provided to clients by UNSW Canberra in good faith for private study and research only, and may not be published or re-purposed without the express and written permission of the individual legal holder of that copyright. Refer also to the UNSW copyright, disclaimer and takedown policy.

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Items in Collection

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