Notes
Born 18 September 1886 Alexandria, Egypt. Son of Moses & Eva Shmilowitz. Husband of Elsie née McKechnie. Father of two children. "For most conspicuous bravery on 26 April 1915, near Ypres, when he left his Company on his own initiative and went well forward towards the enemy's position to assist a severely wounded man, whom he carried a distance of 250 yards into safety, whilst exposed the whole time to heavy machine-gun and rifle fire. Subsequently Corporal Smith displayed great gallantry, when the casualties were very heavy, in voluntarily assisting to bring in many more wounded men throughout the day, and attending to them with the greatest devotion to duty regardless or personal risk." Source: Supplement to the London Gazette, 23 August 1915. Other awards include: French Croix de Guerre; Russian Cross of St George. "Corporal Issy Smith, of the Manchester Regiment, the first Jew to receive the VC, is in hospital at Dublin, recovering from the effects of the poisonous gases used by the Germans in Flanders. The local Jews are lavish in their attentions and presentations to him." For more information, go to https://vajexaustralia.org.au/victoria-cross-sgt-issy-smith-full-story
John Monash (Monasch) born
in Melbourne, Australia on 27 June 1865, the son of
German Polish Jewish migrants, can be researched in any
military history encyclopaedia or in fact by just
‘Googling’ his name on the internet. His history
and list of achievements are long and far too many to detail
in this brief summary. However, might I say that reading his
history is well worth the effort and I can assure you that
his deeds will amaze you. I have found that the deeds are
better labelled on more than one man and in more than one
lifetime.
An
announcement was made in the weeks leading up to the
Centenary of ANZAC by Judy Landau, President VAJEX Aust.
She stated that it gave her great delight to announce
that VAJEX Aust (Victorian Association of Jewish Ex
& Servicemen & Women Australia Inc) has
successfully raised the required funds to build a new
Victorian Jewish Memorial after the style of the
historic Memorial located in the Jewish section of the
Melbourne General Cemetery. After an extensive two year
process, Judy has single-handedly sought letters of
support, raised the funds, and obtained approval from
the City of Port Phillip.
