First World War veteran Walter Herbert Smith was from the Lockyer Valley and lived in Toowoomba after he returned from the war. Contributed
A CALL from St Paul's Cathedral in London enlightened Toowoomba woman Linda Ebeling to a side of her war veteran grandfather she didn't know existed.
Ms Ebeling and her siblings were ecstatic to learn embroidery done by their grandfather Walter Herbert Smith, while laid up in hospital with First World War wounds, had formed part of a tapestry on display at the famous London landmark.
Mr Smith was from Ma Ma Creek in the Lockyer Valley and was 20 years old when he joined the Australian Imperial Force in January 1916.
According to a history compiled by St Paul's Cathedral, the living conditions in the trenches took their toll on the private, and he was admitted to hospital with pleurisy and flu in 1917.
He was wounded in April 1918, but remained on duty.
Unfortunately, he suffered serious bullet wounds during the Second Battle of the Somme in July 1918 and was evacuated to the Kitchener Military Hospital in Brighton.
It was there, as a consequence of his injuries, he had to have his left leg amputated.
He was then transferred to the 2nd Australian Auxiliary Hospital in Southall, where he contributed to the embroidery of the tapestry.
A tapestry stitched by First World War soldiers while receiving treatment for war injuries is on display at St Paul's Cathedral in London. St Paul's Cathedral
During his treatment, he met and fell in love with volunteer carer Harriett May Adams, who came with him to Australia in 1919.
They were married at St Stephen's Church in Ma Ma Creek in 1920.
His embroidery work was combined with that of 137 fellow injured soldiers from around the Commonwealth to form an altar frontal which was displayed from 1919 on the high altar at the eastern end of St Paul's Cathedral in London.
The tapestry was used until the Second World War, but was stored away after the bomb-damaged altar was reconstructed to a different size.
Mr Smith moved with his family back to England in about 1935 but again returned to Australia in November, 1948.
First World War veteran Walter Herbert Smith had a leg amputated after he was injured during battle. Contributed
They lived in a flat at the intersection of King and Neil Sts in Toowoomba.
Mr Smith died in 1967.
It wasn't until last year that it was decided the First World War altar frontal would be used again, not as a one-off, but as the centrepiece and focal point of the cathedral's commemorations of the centenary of the First World War.
Ms Ebeling was amazed when researchers from the cathedral contacted her family to invite them to the unveiling of the tapestry.
"It is amazing that someone from Toowoomba is getting the recognition," Ms Ebeling said.
She had no idea her grandfather had embroidery skills.
A crocheted doily contained in a family Bible was the only clue she had.
"We were always told that it was what granddad did (when he was in hospital), but we didn't believe it."
She said her grandfather eventually had his right leg amputated at the knee, a result of pressure from shrapnel wounds received during his service.
Mr Smith did not shy away from his injuries.
"He was too proud to cover his stumps.
"He was a survivor."
Ms Ebeling hopes to see the tapestry, which is to remain on display until 2018.
"I've never wanted to travel overseas, but I'd love to see this."
Creative recovery
Of the many forms of rehabilitation, embroidery was seen as a good way of greatly helping to reduce the effects of shell shock, owing to its intricacy and need for concentration and a steady hand.
It was because of this the idea of an altar frontal for St Paul's Cathedral was conceived.
Men from the UK, Australia, Canada and South Africa, recovering in hospitals all around the country, contributed small sections, which were then collected at the Royal School of Needlework in Kensington to be stitched together.
Source: St Paul's Cathedral.
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