John Arthur Smith
Memorial: Tortworth - St Leonard's Church
Regiment: Merchant Navy
Rank and number: Ships Master
Parents: Daniel and Sarah Ann Smith
Home address: 7 Camden Gardens, Shepherds Bush, London
Pre-war occupation: Merchant Navy
Date of birth: 17/12/1872
Place of birth: Tortworth
Date of death: 28/01/1918
Buried/Commemorated at: Unknown
Age: 45
Further information:
In 1881, John Arthur (age 8) was with his parents in Tortworth, but by 1891 he was in an apprentice in the Mercantile Marines and was a boarder in Liverpool. His parents continued living in Tortworth and were recorded on the 1911 Census. His father was a farmer.
His death has not been recorded on the Commonwealth War Graves register, but the deaths at sea register record John Arthur as the Ships Master of SS Keelung and he died whilst the ship was off Rock Ferry on the River Mersey near Liverpool. The entry states ‘Suicide by taking Laudanum during temporary insanity’. These records confirm his date of birth and place of birth as Tortworth. The ship was a defensively armed merchant ship (for cargo) and was torpedoed and sunk later in June 1918.
On the Tortworth war memorial, the entry states Lt Com J Arthur Smith RNR (Royal Naval Reserve). He did serve in the RNR from 1902 but retired in 1907 with the rank of Lieutenant. It is possible that he served with the RNR at the beginning of the war and reverted to the Merchant Navy, but no details of this have been found yet.
As Lt Com J Arthur Smith was serving in the Merchant navy prior to the war it is likely he was awarded the 1914-15 trio (and possibly the Mercantile Marine War Medal) but this has not yet been confirmed.
By kind permission, this information is based on the following source(s):
Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Findmypast (Soldiers Died during the Great War, 1901 & 1911 Census etc), Volunteer Researcher John Davis.