George Henry Glencross Smith, often referred to as H. G. Smith in contemporary reports, was the secretary of the Toowoomba British Football Association in the years prior to his enlistment in July 1915. He was also an Alderman in the Newtown Town Council.
Smith was assigned to the 26th Battalion and arrived in France in July 1916. He was wounded within a month, leading to the Toowoomba MP and former federal minister Littlejohn Groom to write a letter on parliamentary paper enquiring of his condition. When Groom’s nephew Colin was killed in action in 1917, Smith wrote to the family to give details of the death and location of the burial. This was one of a small number of letters Smith wrote which were reprinted in Queensland newspapers detailing his life during the war, including the boat trip to Europe.
Smith was awarded the Military Cross the 1918 New Years Honours list, though details of his specific actions are unknown. The 26th Battalion had spent late 1917 in Belgium taking part in the battle of Menin Road and the capture of Broodseinde Ridge.
Smith’s war ended in August 1918, after receiving a serious gunshot wound to the cheek. He survived and arrived back in Australia in December. On arriving back to Toowoomba, Smith met his daughter, conceived with wife Adelaide shortly before his departure in 1916. The family later moved to New Farm in Brisbane.