Moriaty Posted 18 December , 2010 Share Posted 18 December , 2010 On a recent visit to Dublin, I was in the grounds of Trinity College and stumbled across a memorial plaque to 2373 Private Arthur Charles Smith, 4th Hussars, at the back of a car park on the wall surrounding the college. Does anyone know what the story is behind this memorial? The stone memorial says: In memory of 2373 Private Arthur Charles Smith, 4th Hussars Killed in action on 29th April 1916 during The Rebellion in Dublin Erected by The Officers and Cadets of the Dublin University Officers Training Corps. Original Memorial replaced by The Queen's Royal Hussars Association, 2007. Moriaty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmackie Posted 18 December , 2010 Share Posted 18 December , 2010 Hello There is a photo of the plaque on Flickr see link below. Dental Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moriaty Posted 18 December , 2010 Author Share Posted 18 December , 2010 Thanks Dental for adding the photograph (its beyond my technical capability to do so). There is also a rather curious photograph on the site www.irishmemorials.ie which shows the plaque with, what looks like a striplight above it, and there is an umbrella leaned up against a tree! Moriaty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmackie Posted 18 December , 2010 Share Posted 18 December , 2010 Hello Moriarty Had a look at theIrish War Memorials Site and there is an image of the old memorial and the grave, go to additional images at bottom. I see what ou mean about the umbrella. I have posted the link below for the other images.it may be of interest to others. http://www.irishwarm...al.php?show=164 dental Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moriaty Posted 18 December , 2010 Author Share Posted 18 December , 2010 From the old photograph on the Irish Memorials site, it would appear that Private Smith was originally buried within the grounds of Trinity College - is this where he fell? Subsequently there were two graves re-located from Trinity College grounds to Grangegorman Cemetery and Private Smith is now buried in grave CE 807. I assume CE refers to his religion, CofE, and it looks as if soldiers were buried together with others of the same religion. Does anyone know how and where Private Smith was killed? Moriaty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corisande Posted 19 December , 2010 Share Posted 19 December , 2010 This is from a forum thread here Does not say how he was killed My story concerns a gentleman by the name of Arthur Charles Smith who was born in Maldon, Essex (DoB unknown) and who was killed on the 29th April 1916 whilst serving with the 4th Queen's Own Hussars, in Dublin, during the uprising. He was buried where he died. On the cricket pitch at Trinity College and later reinterred in the military plot at Grangegorman Cemetary. It transpires that a memorial plaque was erected by the OTC. It was drawn to my attention several years ago. Sadly it had fallen into a severe state of disrepair and had been vandalised. I in turn, called upon my former comrades in the Queen's Royal Hussars Association. Our lineage includes the 4th QOH. We decided to replace the plaque at our own cost - that is under way. Where we are stuck now is finding any relatives of AC Smith who may have survived and who may be honoured to know his memory is still being observed and furthermore, who may be interested in attending the unveiling of the new plaque and a memorial service to him on Saturday the 17th November this year. I'm no expert but I'va taken advice and managed to get his death lines and MIC. I've also ran a story in the Malden Standard (where they did a super job). I've been in contact with local history buffs in Maldon but, so far, no one has come up with any relatives, although we did discover that a tree was planted in his memory in the "Avenue of Remembrance" in Maldon. Can anyone help me find out if 2373 Private Arthur Charles Smith has any living relatives today? Myself and my associates would be very grateful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephen p nunn Posted 19 December , 2010 Share Posted 19 December , 2010 Interesting. Not sure which Maldon history buffs you have been in touch with or if we have corresponded re. this one? Arthur Charles Smith was indeed born in Maldon. He then lived in nearby Heybridge. With the outbreak of war he enlisted at Colchester as Private (2373) 4th (Queen's Own) Hussars. He is claimed as a man of the parish of Heybridge and is listed as such in terms of the Heybridge memorial/Roll of Honour. However, he is not on the main Maldon Town Memorial (this will be corrected next year). He does have a tree in the Avenue of Remembrance (it is number 162). Regards. SPN Maldon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moriaty Posted 19 December , 2010 Author Share Posted 19 December , 2010 Thanks to all for this information about Private Smith (I should have thought to do a search on the Forum in the first place). I do hope you have some success in finding relations. His plaque is a lovely remembrance, but the location rather lonely and I did wonder how often people come across it and read it. Moriaty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Pegum Posted 21 December , 2010 Share Posted 21 December , 2010 Hello Moriarty Had a look at theIrish War Memorials Site and there is an image of the old memorial and the grave, go to additional images at bottom. I see what ou mean about the umbrella. I have posted the link below for the other images.it may be of interest to others. http://www.irishwarm...al.php?show=164 dental Private Smith was killed on 29th April, 1916, in the College Green area, at the front of Trinity College. The College was a base for British forces at the time, and his body was brought into the College grounds for temporary burial. He was not buried where he died, and was not buried on the cricket field. The photograph was taken on the occasion of the unveiling of the new memorial. The "striplight" is the mounting for the curtains which were fixed up so that it could be unveiled. The other photographs are of the first grave of Arthur Smith, at the foot of the College boundary wall, just below where the memorial was later placed, and also of the original memorial. It was affected more by corrosion, being of limestone, than vandalism, although the removal of the crown may have been deliberate. The PDF file explains the circumstances of the replacement. I'm sorry if any confusion was caused. Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moriaty Posted 22 December , 2010 Author Share Posted 22 December , 2010 Thanks Michael for this additional information about where Private Smith was killed and the background to his burial and the memorial plaque. It was very interesting learn the background and history of this rather lonely memorial at Trinity. Moriaty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hussar100 Posted 24 December , 2011 Share Posted 24 December , 2011 I am a little late in replying to this post but I was unaware of it until now. I was the organiser of the replacement Smith Memorial in the grounds of Trinity College Dublin. Much assistance was given by Michael Pegum but unfortunately, as he will confirm, he was unable to attend the unveiling and dedication of the new stone due to a prior family committment. The dedicaton was held (from memory) on Sunday 19th November 2009 and was attended by around 40 people from the QRH Assoc, University staff, Old Comrades from the Irish Army and other interested parties. The service was conducted jointly by the RC and CofI chaplains of Trinity College. A reception was held at a nearby hotel. As a direct result of this ceremony we were able to form a Dublin Troop of the OCA which (surprisingly) had never existed before that any of us are aware. I know the full story of this by memory and can fill in any blanks. I was aware that there was no mention of AC Smith on the Maldon War Memorial but we did draw it to the attention of the local history society and they did tell me about the tree in the Avenue of Remembrance. I ran several stories in the Maldon Gazzette at: http://www.gazette-n...al_to_Pt_Smith/ and http://www.gazette-n...nally_replaced/ I did all that I could at the time to try and identify a relative with the view to finding a picture of the fallen soldier and in bringing surviving relatives to the memorial and grave site. Unfortunately we could find no-one. A full record of all donations, newspaper articles, photographs, the order of service (and the bar bill) were all lodged at QRH Assoc Home Headquarters. I did have copies but unfortunately lost them in a disc crash. To answer a question: the unbrella resting against the tree belonged to Brigadier RJ Rhoderick Jones. He placed it there while he was directing the old and damaged memorial to be put on display beside the new one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephen p nunn Posted 24 December , 2011 Share Posted 24 December , 2011 I am a little late in replying to this post but I was unaware of it until now. I was the organiser of the replacement Smith Memorial in the grounds of Trinity College Dublin. Much assistance was given by Michael Pegum but unfortunately, as he will confirm, he was unable to attend the unveiling and dedication of the new stone due to a prior family committment. The dedicaton was held (from memory) on Sunday 19th November 2009 and was attended by around 40 people from the QRH Assoc, University staff, Old Comrades from the Irish Army and other interested parties. The service was conducted jointly by the RC and CofI chaplains of Trinity College. A reception was held at a nearby hotel. As a direct result of this ceremony we were able to form a Dublin Troop of the OCA which (surprisingly) had never existed before that any of us are aware. I know the full story of this by memory and can fill in any blanks. I was aware that there was no mention of AC Smith on the Maldon War Memorial but we did draw it to the attention of the local history society and they did tell me about the tree in the Avenue of Remembrance. I ran several stories in the Maldon Gazzette at: http://www.gazette-n...al_to_Pt_Smith/ and http://www.gazette-n...nally_replaced/ I did all that I could at the time to try and identify a relative with the view to finding a picture of the fallen soldier and in bringing surviving relatives to the memorial and grave site. Unfortunately we could find no-one. A full record of all donations, newspaper articles, photographs, the order of service (and the bar bill) were all lodged at QRH Assoc Home Headquarters. I did have copies but unfortunately lost them in a disc crash. To answer a question: the unbrella resting against the tree belonged to Brigadier RJ Rhoderick Jones. He placed it there while he was directing the old and damaged memorial to be put on display beside the new one. Thanks - he is on the Maldon Memorial now. Best regards. SPN Maldon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hussar100 Posted 24 December , 2011 Share Posted 24 December , 2011 Thanks - he is on the Maldon Memorial now. Best regards. SPN Maldon Is there any chance we can get a photograph of that to forward to HHQ? Everything gets catalogued and held onto and we have a very active history society. I think Trinity College Dublin and MIchael Pegum would appreciate copies too. I'd be very grateful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephen p nunn Posted 24 December , 2011 Share Posted 24 December , 2011 Is there any chance we can get a photograph of that to forward to HHQ? Everything gets catalogued and held onto and we have a very active history society. I think Trinity College Dublin and MIchael Pegum would appreciate copies too. I'd be very grateful. Leave it with me. I'll take some pictures in the new year. The plaques look great - like they have been there for years. See my thread on the Maldon Memorial for the full story. Merry Christmas. SPN Maldon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hussar100 Posted 27 December , 2011 Share Posted 27 December , 2011 Leave it with me. I'll take some pictures in the new year. The plaques look great - like they have been there for years. See my thread on the Maldon Memorial for the full story. Merry Christmas. SPN Maldon I've checked your thread out. You've done a lot of good work there. I was lucky in that I had an existing regiment and pool of old comrades lining up to contribute to the fund for AC Smith. The Maldon Gazette was very kind too although no actual donations came from that direction. You've had to start from scratch to fund raise and it must have been a darn hard job to get off the ground. Well done that man and well done the team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephen p nunn Posted 29 December , 2011 Share Posted 29 December , 2011 I've checked your thread out. You've done a lot of good work there. I was lucky in that I had an existing regiment and pool of old comrades lining up to contribute to the fund for AC Smith. The Maldon Gazette was very kind too although no actual donations came from that direction. You've had to start from scratch to fund raise and it must have been a darn hard job to get off the ground. Well done that man and well done the team. Thanks mate. My only disappointment is that I can't now find the Maldon Memorial thread through my search facility. I had hoped that it would be added to "Classic Threads" given the number of hits and replies but that doesn't seem to have happened. Best wishes. SPN Maldon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hussar100 Posted 29 December , 2011 Share Posted 29 December , 2011 Thanks mate. My only disappointment is that I can't now find the Maldon Memorial thread through my search facility. I had hoped that it would be added to "Classic Threads" given the number of hits and replies but that doesn't seem to have happened. Best wishes. SPN Maldon I see what you mean. On the plus side though, I didn't find it hard to locate even with my unfamiliarity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Pegum Posted 1 January , 2012 Share Posted 1 January , 2012 I am a little late in replying to this post but I was unaware of it until now. I was the organiser of the replacement Smith Memorial in the grounds of Trinity College Dublin. Much assistance was given by Michael Pegum but unfortunately, as he will confirm, he was unable to attend the unveiling and dedication of the new stone due to a prior family committment. My son was getting married that day, far from Dublin. Oddly, my family felt that that was even more important than the unveiling! I am glad to say that, at a recent inspection, the plaque was in excellent condition. Michael Pegum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hussar100 Posted 19 January , 2012 Share Posted 19 January , 2012 My son was getting married that day, far from Dublin. Oddly, my family felt that that was even more important than the unveiling! I am glad to say that, at a recent inspection, the plaque was in excellent condition. Michael Pegum Nice to hear from you Michael. You'll presumably have realised by now that this is Glyn? Sorry I've been out of touch for a while. I am absolutely delighted to learn that the new plaque is still ok. We all had our concerns as you know. Was there ever any news on the Cochrane Memorial? The one which was discovered in the shed under Nassau Street steps when the old Smith Memorial was being stored there. I had contacted the Leinster Regiment Assoc and was sure they would do something, even gave them the stonemason's name. I understand from him that they were putting that project into abeyance for a short period of time whilst commissioning him to do a major revamp on the War Memorial in Ballina (?). Your services must be in great demand these days with the recent resurgence in interest surrounding the Irish who served? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moriaty Posted 21 January , 2012 Author Share Posted 21 January , 2012 As the person who started the enquiry about Private Smith's plaque in the grounds of Trinity over a year ago, I was really interested to hear the rest of the story from Glynn/Hussar100 and Michael. Well done to all, hopefully as a result of your work and this topic on the forum. there may be a few more visitors to the spot in the grounds of Trinity College. Moriaty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted 23 November , 2018 Share Posted 23 November , 2018 (edited) Hi, I have a photo of a solider tending private charles smith grave in trinity college, i think he was killed in the grounds of Trinity College keoghpc@tcd.ie Edited 26 November , 2018 by Guest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Pegum Posted 26 November , 2018 Share Posted 26 November , 2018 On 23/11/2018 at 21:25, peter-keogh said: Hi, I have a photo of a solider tending private charles smith grave in trinity college, i think he was killed in the grounds of Trinity College keoghpc@tcd.ie Is it the one on the Irish War Memorials website (http://www.irishwarmemorials.ie/Memorials-Detail?memoId=696)? The original grave was where the memorial is now. He was later buried in Grangegorman Military Cemetery, Dublin. Details of his death and burial are in post #10 above. Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jervis Posted 2 March , 2019 Share Posted 2 March , 2019 Smith’s new grave in Grangegorman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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