{"id":9319,"date":"2010-11-07T20:44:32","date_gmt":"2010-11-07T09:44:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/fffaif.org.au\/?p=9319"},"modified":"2010-11-07T20:44:32","modified_gmt":"2010-11-07T09:44:32","slug":"smithys-anniversary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fffaif.org.au\/?p=9319","title":{"rendered":"Smithy's Anniversary"},"content":{"rendered":"

Charles Kingsford Smith<\/span><\/strong>
\n1897 \u2013 1935<\/p>\n

This year marks the 75th<\/sup> Anniversary of the death of one of Australia\u2019s most famous aviators \u2013 Sir Charles Kingsford Smith. Many recognize him as the face on the A$20 note but few know of his time in the AIF as one of the original Anzac Diggers.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Photo: Charles Kingsford Smith (left) 26 April 1915
\nBroadmeadows Victoria
\n[AWM DA08452]<\/p>\n

Charles Kingsford Smith was eighteen years old when he enlisted in the AIF. The Australian War Memorial describes his time in the AIF after his enlistment as:
\nafter a brief period in the artillery, was posted to the 2nd Division as a signaller. He served on Gallipoli and then in Egypt and France as a dispatch rider. In October 1916, as a sergeant, Kingsford-Smith transferred to the Australian Flying Corps. In March 1917 he was discharged from the AIF and commissioned as a 2nd lieutenant in the Royal Flying Corps. Having been promoted to flying officer, he was posted to No. 23 Squadron in France in July 1917. Shot down and wounded a month later, Kingsford-Smith was awarded the Military Cross, having shot down four German aircraft in his first month of operational flying.
\nKingsford-Smith was promoted to lieutenant in April 1918 and served as an instructor for the rest of the war.<\/em><\/p>\n

His Service Record can be viewed on line at the National Archives of Australia by clicking here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Charles Kingsford Smith\u2019s time in the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) marked the start of a history making partnership with Australian aviation, including:<\/p>\n