condensed discuss document expanded export feedback print share remove reset document_white enquire_white export_white report_white

Cenotaph record

Melville Charles Smith

-
Lay a poppy
Galatos Memorial Cross. Image provided by Noel Taylor. Image © Auckland Museum CC BY.

Galatos Memorial Cross. Image provided by Noel Taylor. Image © Auckland Museum CC BY.

Identity

About

Contribute ›
  • Title
  • Forenames
    Melville Charles AWMM
  • Surname
    Smith AWMM
  • Ingoa
  • Also known as
    Geige AWMM
  • Service number
    11787 AWMM
  • Gender
    Male AWMM
  • Iwi
  • Hapū
  • Waka
  • Rohe
  • Religion
    Church of England, Christian AWMM

Civilian life

About birth

Contribute ›
  • Birth
    25 March 1917 AWMM Christchurch, Canterbury AWMM
  • Date of birth
  • Place of birth
  • Birth notes
  • Address before enlistment
    Pre 1 February 1940 AWMM 77 Hackthorne Road, Cashmere, Chriustchurch, New Zealand AWMM
  • Post war occupation
  • Next of kin on embarkation
    Charles Smith (father), 77 Hackthorne Road, Cashmere, Chriustchurch, New Zealand AWMM
  • Relationship status
    Pre 1 May 1940 AWMM Single AWMM

Service

Wars and conflicts

Contribute ›

Military decorations

Contribute ›
  • Medals and Awards

Training and Enlistment

Contribute ›
  • Military training
    About 2 weeks AWMM
  • Branch Trade Proficiency
  • Enlistment
    WW2 Feb 1940 AWMM
    Age 22 AWMM
    Clerk AWMM
    Christchurch, Canterbury AWMM
  • Occupation before enlistment
  • Age on enlistment

Prisoner of war

Contribute ›
  • Capture details
    • WW2
      Crete, Greece AWMM
    • WW2 POW - Stalag VIII-A, Gorlitz, Poland AWMM
      1945 AWMM
    • WW2 POW - Stalag IX-C, Bad Sulza, Bad Sulza, Germany AWMM
      1945 AWMM
    • WW2 POW - Crete List of 2NZEF POW (MS 2009/8)
      Crete, Greece List of 2NZEF POW (MS 2009/8)
    • WW2 POW - Stalag VIII-B (later 344), Lamsdorf, Poland 2NZEF, Germany and German occupied territories : imperial prisoners of war alphabetical list : section 4. N.Z. 1945.
      1 May 1941 AWMM
  • Days interned
  • Liberation date
  • Liberation Repatriation
    WW2 1 May 1945 AWMM
  • POW liberation details
  • POW serial number
    23383 AWMM

Medical history

Contribute ›
  • Medical notes
    Hospital Diseases , Wounds, WWII AWMM
    Impaired hearing and arthritis AWMM

Last known rank

Contribute ›

Biographical information

Biographical information

Contribute ›
  • Melville Smith's nickname was "Geige" as this is the German word for violin which he played in the POW camp.

    Cenotaph record initially prepared with the serviceman in 1998. An Olive Tree (Olea europaea) planted close to the Auckland War Memorial Museum in the grounds of the Auckland Domain commemorates those who fought on Crete. The plaque at the base of the tree reads: This Olive Tree was presented to the New Zealand Veterans of the Battle for Crete by the people of Galatos in Crete in respect and the esteem of the bond formed during and after the Battle of Crete May 1941. AWMM
Read more

Death

About death

Contribute ›
  • Death
    2003 AWMM
    New Zealand AWMM
  • Date of death
  • Age at death
  • Place of death
  • Cause of death
  • Death notes
  • Cemetery
  • Cemetery name
  • Grave reference
  • Obituary
  • Memorial name
  • Memorial reference

Memorials

Memorial

Contribute ›
  • Memorial name

Roll of Honour

Remember Melville Charles Smith by laying a poppy.

Leave a note

Leave a tribute or memory of Melville Charles Smith

Leave a note

Contribute ›

Sources

Sources

Contribute ›
  • External links
    Births, Deaths and Marriages (New Zealand) Historical Records online
    https://www.bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz
    Sources Used
  • References
    • Great Britain Army. (1945). Germany and German occupied territories : imperial prisoners of war alphabetical list : section 4. London, U.K.: Government Printer. AWMM
    • Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force. (1941). Nominal Roll Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force No. 2 (Embarkations to 30th June, 1940). Wellington, N.Z.: Govt. Printer. AWMM
      WW2 2: WW2 172 AWMM
    • List of 2NZEF Prisoners of War. 1941-1945. Auckland War Memorial Museum Library. MS 2009/8. AWMM
    • Cenotaph record initially prepared with the service person. AWMM

Contributors

Command item
Command item
Add new record Refresh
DateFirst namesLocationRelationshipContact
24 April 2020RogerAucklandChild

The development of the Online Cenotaph is an ongoing process; updates, new images and records are added weekly. In some cases, records have yet to be confirmed by Museum staff, and there could be mistakes or omissions in the information provided.

Creative Commons LicenseOnline Cenotaph Data by Auckland War Memorial Museum is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.