Born in Perth, Scotland in about 1888, David Smith emigrated to Victoria with his family and settled in the suburb now called Seddon. He played for Footscray Thistle before and briefly after the war, often singled out in match reports for the quality of his keeping.
Enlisting early he was in the second wave of the landing at Gallipoli where he won a Military Cross. His citation reads:
On 8th May 1915, during operations south of Krithia, for conspicuous gallantry and good services in rallying and leading men forward to the attack. Although wounded in both arms, he continued to direct his men, setting a valuable example of devotion to duty.
His military career was both honourable and debilitating. Eventually promoted to Lieutenant, he nonetheless struggled psychologically from what he had experienced. His brother Harry noted to a tribunal that after a moment of intense and violent action David had been reduced to tears.
Towards the end of the war he married Lizzie R. Esplin in Dundee on Valentine’s Day 1918. After returning to Australia, matters deteriorated further. He struggled psychologically and physically. Despite this, he enlisted in the Second World War, based in Australia.
He claimed for the rest of his life that his problems were a result of the war. He and his family made many appeals for a war pension, claiming towards the end of his life that he had war-induced Chronic Alcoholic Dementia. Eventually he was awarded a 60 per cent pension backdated to 1960 in 1964, the year of his death.