However Clarence did not come through the war unscathed. A 'yellow cross' shell from a German artillery barrage did irreparable damage. The mustard gas affected his eyes, throat, lungs and stomach. During the war his family recognised a change in his letters, in which the writing was so bad that it was almost unreadable and then the letters stopped. It was only after the war that the family discovered that he had been temporarily blinded and that his sight in one eye had been permanently lost.
His injuries qualified him to retire on a war pension probably about 8 Sep 1922 when a copy of his Service Record was made for War Pensions. He became a TPI (Totally and Permanently Incapacitated ex-Servicemen) and wore the badge in his lapel for the rest of his life. As well as enduring poor physical health and an incessant cough, today we would recognise that Clarence suffered from war neurosis which caused domestic problems.

It was a widely held view that General (later Lord) Allenby was the man who fulfilled the prophecy of the Bible by entering the Jaffa Gate to take Jerusalem. It was prophesied in the Bible that Armageddon would be where the final cataclysmic battle between the forces of good and evil would take place. Clarence was certainly not alone in his belief that the liberation of Palestine by the Commander of the Allied Forces in the Holy Land and the crucial armed conflicts of WW1 amounted to Armageddon. Apparently this was a fundamental tenet of an American-based religious movement known as the 'Judge Rutherfords' after their society's president. Clarence was caught up in their post war crusade and became a devout Jehovah's Witness. If we are charitable it is easy to see how such religious doctrine would appeal to an ex-soldier attempting to find solace and salvation for his wounded soul.

Clarence became an obsessive Jehovah's Witness and would quote the Bible, chapter and verse, to anyone who would listen. He attended their conventions in Sydney and made donations to the Society at the expense of his family who received less and less as time went by. This created conflict with family members who would have none of it and continued to attended Neil Street Methodist Church. Domestic life was also exacerbated by episodes of drunkenness. As one old RSL member said, 'I never met a soldier who didn't enjoy a drink.' One of Clarry's digger mates revealed that 'he had quite an eye for the ladies in France' and it would seem that he continued to having a roving eye back home, as well as producing six more Smith children after the war.
Eventually in 1941 after 27 years of a marriage that was not always happy, Hilda bought her own house at 612 Armstrong Street. With the help of her children she established a business 'Smith's Cosy Corner Tea Rooms' at 417 Sturt Street and finally retired to Melbourne to live with one of her sons. She is remembered as a devoted mother who raised a fine family with forebearance and good nature.

Only one of Clarence's eight children was able to make peace with their father so that late in life Clarence at least enjoyed the company of some of his grandchildren. They remembered him as a generous, kindly old gentleman and had little idea of what he must have suffered during the war or the extent of the ensuing domestic turmoil.
He never lost his wry sense of humour and eventually ended up on his 'Estate', with a cook, a chauffeur and any number of attendants. This was in fact the Queen Elizabeth Home where he would regale visitors with his deeply held religious views and quotations from the Bible. The old digger was finally laid to rest in the Ballarat New Cemetery after his death aged 74 years on 19 Dec 1969. It seems remarkable that he lasted so long.

   

Clarence William Smith 1895-1969 - WW1 page 1