Talk:Issy Smith

Issy Smith is a featured article; it (or a previous version of it) has been identified as one of the best articles produced by the Wikipedia community. Even so, if you can update or improve it, please do so.

This article appeared on Wikipedia's Main Page as Today's featured article on December 22, 2011.

Article milestones
Date	Process	Result
September 8, 2007	WikiProject peer review	Reviewed
September 24, 2007	WikiProject A-class review	Approved
September 29, 2007	Featured article candidate	Promoted

Current status: Featured article

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Biography: Military

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Military history: South Pacific / British / European / World War I

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Australia: Military history Mid‑importance

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Jewish history Mid‑importance

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This article was created or added to during the Victoria Cross Reference Migration. It may contain material that was used with permission from victoriacross.net.

Archives

/Archive 1

"first living Jewish recipient of the Victoria Cross"

This claim is not properly cited and as a major claim in a FA article needs a proper reference, not an author's note. --Dweller (talk) 10:25, 22 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Yeah, I took it out. Also, were his parents Jewish? I assume so, since he was Jewish and so few people convert to Judaism (a non-proselytizing religion). I'd like to say "born to Jewish parents". --Uncle Ed (talk) 15:21, 22 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Before adding the cn tag to TFA, I looked at all the sources in the article as it was when it passed FA. Not many of them were ever online, and of those, few still exist. However, one goodie from Australia mentioned his parents were not just Jewish, but orthodox, so there'd be no "maternal line" arguments about him being Jewish. --Dweller (talk) 15:26, 22 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Appalling lack regarding decorations

On the main page, where this article is currently featured, it is mentioned that he not only received high decorations from the UK, but also from France and Russia. That is very remarkable, and I am certain that I'm not the only one whose curiosity was piqued by this. But to my dismay there was nothing - absolutely nothing - about these decorations, beyond the simple claim that he got them. There is not even a reference for these two decorations. (There is a footnote next to the statement, but that is not a reference.) How could this have been overlooked in the featured article process? — Sebastian 19:57, 22 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

"Diggerhistory" is used as a reference on this page; unfortunately, "diggerhistory" is notorious for just ripping off other websites in lieu of doing actual research, so I would be wary of the veracity of this article as well. It seems diggerhistory is now offline in any event: http://www.anzacwebsites.com/general/diggerhistory.htm 139.48.25.60 (talk) 20:24, 22 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Read the adb source. And leave off the histrionics. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 174.253.149.208 (talk) 22:20, 22 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks for pointing me to ADB. Reference for St. George's Cross and some pertinent text from ADB has been inserted. (You can do that, too - that's why Wikipedia is for all to edit.) The ADB also mentions the Croix de Guerre, but nothing about the palm. While that makes it a bit better, the article remains underwhelming; there are only the few words "rescuing Russian soldiers in Mesopotamia" for the former, and nothing for the latter - for an important part of what made the man noteworthy. — Sebastian 01:22, 23 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Why is this featured again?

I don't see any discussion for featuring this article again. In addition to the fact that some of the the main points that make the man interesting are not covered, the article has other shortcomings, such as:

a TLDR section on WWI that includes a paragraph on his life past WWI,
the text on the garden party, which is long on links to articles completely unrelated to him,
ripping apart the good and the bad in his life post WWI with the "Legacy" headline.
a lack of dates.
explanation of context, such as why was Maurice wearing his medals in the picture; and when was that?

How was this decided? — Sebastian 01:22, 23 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Why do you say "featured again"? I'd be very surprised if it had been featured before. --Dweller (talk) 08:59, 23 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Oh, I see! It was decided in 2007, so I assumed it was featured some time then. It didn't occur to me that there would be such a long gap in between. — Sebastian 20:03, 24 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Nationality

I don't believe it is appropriate simply call him "British-Australian". Smith's Polish Jewish lineage makes his nationality more complex; this should at least be mentioned in the lead. Thanks--(Wikipedian1234 (talk) 22:42, 22 December 2011 (UTC))[reply]

And French too via his parents, though I wonder if he ever was officially recognized as such. -- Brianhe (talk) 00:03, 23 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]