Editing Issy Smith (section)

==Early life==
Smith was born in [[Constantinople]],{{sfn|Knight|2022|pp=96-97}} the son of Moses (1822-1907) and Eva Shmeilowitz (1845-1934), who were of [[Russian Empire]] Jewish origin. They met in [[Berdychiv]] and later relocated to [[Odessa]].{{sfn|Knight|2022|p=65}} They left [[Rostov-on-Don]] in 1888 for Turkey.{{sfn|Knight|2022|pp=72,75}}  They relocated to Egypt at the start of the 1900s.{{sfn|Knight|2022|p=87}} Although it was alleged his father was employed by the French Consulate-General as a clerk in [[Khedivate of Egypt|Egypt]], 'this has to be completely false. Moses would have been nearly 80 years of age by the time he took the job - and he spoke no French' {{sfn|Knight|2022|p=90-91}} Eva worked as a seamstress, and Moses worked a sewing machine. It is not clear what other work he obtained.{{sfn|Knight|2022|pp=79-80}}{{efn|The occupation of Moses was recorded as "Tailor" on Issy's wedding certificate.{{sfn|Knight|2022|p=483}} }}

Aged 11, Smith embarked as a stowaway aboard a vessel proceeding to [[London]], where his elder brothers had migrated to. Undaunted by this unfamiliar environment, Smith attended Berner Street School, [[Commercial Street, London]], and worked as a deliverer in the [[East End of London|East End]],{{sfn|Knight|2022|pp=122-123}} then an impoverished [[ghetto]] where [[Yiddish]] was the predominant spoken language.<ref>Rubinstein, p. 242.</ref> Persecution and extreme deprivation had compelled millions of Eastern European Jews to migrate to Western Europe, the Americas, and elsewhere. By the time of Issy Smith's arrival, Jewish immigration to Britain had peaked but was curtailed by the enactment of the [[Aliens Act 1905|Aliens Act]] in 1905.<ref>Alderman, pp. 149–150.</ref>

It was theorised that the pseudonym Issy Smith was adopted, in the process of enlisting, at the behest of a recruiting sergeant.<ref name="ADB">{{harvnb|Australian Dictionary of Biography}}</ref> This legend has been dismissed as apocryphal, as this surname was already used by his brothers Jacob and Joseph and Morris who lived in London.{{sfn|Knight|2022|pp=126-127}} He joined the militia on 21 April 1904, giving a declared age of 17 years, 8 months. He was working as a plumber, living in Manchester.<ref name="FMP9946IssySmith">{{cite web |url=https://www.findmypast.co.uk/transcript?id=GBM%2FWO96%2F1029%2F1522785 |url-access=subscription |title=British Army Militia Service Record - Issy Smith |series=WO 96 - Militia Service Records 1806-1915 |publisher=findmypast.co.uk |access-date=11 September 2024}}</ref> He enlisted under regular terms of service in the British Army on 2 September 1904, giving a declared age of 18 years, joining as a Private in the Manchester Regiment. Smith completed his training, later serving in South Africa and India with the 1st Battalion.<ref name="FMP168IssySmith"/> At the time of the 1911 census, he was stationed at [[Kamptee#Military history|Kamptee Cantonment]] in the [[Nagpur division]] within India.<ref name="IssySmithLOTFWW">{{Lives of WWI | id= 4111918 | name= Issy Smith }}</ref> He boxed competitively. He was the middleweight champion of his battalion.<ref name="DundeeIssySmith"/> He entered the 1911 [[Delhi Durbar]] boxing competition, but was eliminated in the second round on points.<ref name="StalybridgeIssySmith"/> A tailor's copy of the [[Delhi Durbar Medal (1911)]] was among his mounted medals.<ref name="DNW"/>

He was discharged to the [[Regular Reserve (United Kingdom)|army reserve]] in 1912, after eight years of [[Active duty|service with the colours]].<ref name="FMP168IssySmith"/> A newspaper article states that upon returning to London from India, he was greeted at the railway station by his brother, accompanied by Elsie, who would later become his wife.<ref name="MinerIssySmith"/> (Elsie's sister would marry Alfred Burley, a colleague of Issy in the same battalion.<ref name=AlfredBurley>{{cite web|url=http://www.themenbehindthemedals.org.uk/index.asp?page=full&mwsquery=(%7BPerson%20identity%7D=%7BBurley,%20A%7D)|title=Alfred Burley |date=1 January 2012 |website=Museum of the Manchester Regiment |series=The Men Behind the Medals |access-date=13 September 2024}}</ref>) Smith emigrated to Australia, after brief employment in London, in April 1914.<ref name="MinerIssySmith"/> He lived in the Melbourne suburb of [[Ascot Vale, Victoria|Ascot Vale]] while working for the city's gas company.<ref name=EssendonMooneePonds>{{cite web|url=https://esshissoc.org.au/the-districts-famous-soldiers/|title=The district's famous soldiers |date=2 April 2023 |website=Essendon Historical Society |access-date=13 September 2024 |quote=He got a job with the Metropolitan Gas Company and boarded with Joseph Tallents who was his Superintendent, at 10 Brisbane St Ascot Vale... Source: RatBag Soldier Saint, Lian Knight 2022}}</ref>