RAYMOND LESLIE GOLDSMITH (1893-1915)   
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PictureRaymond Leslie Goldsmith c1914
 
Private Raymond Goldsmith was the second son of Ernest John and Eliza (Harris) Goldsmith. 

Ernest Goldsmith moved to the Wyong area in 1901 and was engaged in timber getting – he was a teamster drawing logs into Wyong for the Goldsmith Timber Mill, and was later a ganger on construction of the Pacific Highway towards Catherine Hill Bay.

Private Goldsmith enlisted shortly after the outbreak of World War I and was in the 3rd Battalion which sailed with the first contingent on HMAT Euripiedes on the 19th October 1914.  After serving a time in the Camp at Egypt, he embarked with his comrades to affect a landing at the Dardanelles, and took part in the heroic dash on April 25th 1915.  Private Goldsmith was first wounded on 19th May, and after being in the hospital for about a month, he returned to the front on 26th June.  He was wounded again on the 25th July, and died of his wounds on 1st August.

​Raymond Leslie Goldsmith was the first local Wyong soldier to die in World War I – he was 21 years and 9 months.
A wave of sadness and sympathy spread over the town of Wyong when news of his death became known.  His mother, Eliza Goldsmith, unveiled a roll of honour at the Post office, when Anzac Avenue was formally dedicated on 12 August 1916.

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Private Raymond Goldsmith is buried at The Beach Cemetery, Gallipoli.