WWI Digger Ted Smout’s memories live on in book

HE was the last surviving WWI Digger in Queensland and determined to ensure younger generations understood the sacrifices made. His legacy lives on.

World War I veteran Ted Smout during Anzac Day march in Brisbane 25 Apr 2000. one

EDWARD David Smout witnessed some of the most horrific battles on the Western Front, but never shied away from sharing his story.

As Queensland’s last surviving WWI veteran, Mr Smout wanted the younger generations to respect what the Diggers fought for, but not glorify war.

His name now rightly has a permanent place in our history, with the Ted Smout Memorial Bridge linking the Redcliffe Peninsula to Sandgate, where Smout lived with his son after he returned from war.

To commemorate 100 years since the Anzac landing at Gallipoli, and recognise the sacrifices of those men and women who have served our country since World War I, Quest Community Newspapers will publish one story each day online in the lead-up to Anzac Day.

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He enlisted in 1915 at 17, after persuading his mother to let him lie about his age and go to war with his mates.

It was his mates again who influenced his decision to join the medical corps, where he was a stretcher -bearer and witnessed unimaginable scenes in France and Belgium.

One of the most difficult times in the field was the day German flying ace Baron Von Richtofen, the Red Baron, was shot down by an Australian machinegun.

He recounted some stories in his book, Three Centuries Spanned, but often said it was hard to convey.

“There’s no way you could convey to the ordinary civilians the horrors that happened in the war. No way. Indescribable,” Mr Smout said.

He died in 2004 at 106.