View source for Nevill Smyth

{{Short description|Recipient of the Victoria Cross}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2013}}
{{Infobox military person 
|name= Sir Nevill Maskelyne Smyth
|image= Nevill Maskelyne Smyth VC.jpg
|image_size= 
|alt= 
|caption= 
|nickname= The Sphinx
|birth_date= {{Birth date|1868|08|14|df=yes}}
|birth_place= [[Westminster]], [[London]]
|death_date= {{Death date and age|1941|07|21|1868|08|14|df=yes}}
|death_place= [[Balmoral, Victoria]]
|placeofburial= Balmoral Cemetery
|allegiance= United Kingdom
|branch= [[British Army]]
|serviceyears= 1888–1924
|rank= [[Major-general (United Kingdom)|Major General]]
|unit= [[2nd Dragoon Guards (Queen's Bays)]]<br/>[[Carabiniers (6th Dragoon Guards)]]
|commands= [[47th (1/2nd London) Division]] (1919–1924)<br/>[[59th (Staffordshire) Infantry Division|59th (2nd North Midland) Division]] (1918)<br/>[[58th (2/1st London) Division]] (1918)<br/>[[2nd Division (Australia)|2nd Australian Division]] (1916–1918)<br/>[[1st Brigade (Australia)|1st Australian Brigade]] (1915–1916)<br/>[[Carabiniers (6th Dragoon Guards)]] (1909–1913)
|battles= [[Mahdist War]]<br/>[[Second Boer War]]<br/>[[First World War]]
|awards= [[Victoria Cross]]<br/>[[Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath]]<br/>[[Mentioned in Despatches]] (11)<br/>[[Order of the Medjidie|Order of the Medjidieh, Fourth Class]] (Egypt)<br/>[[Order of Osmanieh|Order of Osmanieh, Fourth Class]] (Egypt)<br/>[[Croix de guerre (Belgium)|Croix de Guerre]] (Belgium)<br/>[[Officer of the Legion of Honour]] (France)
|relations= [[Dacre Smyth]] (son)<br/>[[Warington Wilkinson Smyth]] (father)<br/>[[William Henry Smyth|William Smyth]] (grandfather)<br/>[[Robert Baden-Powell]] (cousin)
|laterwork= [[National Party of Australia]] politician
}}
[[Major general (United Kingdom)|Major General]] '''Sir Nevill Maskelyne Smyth''', {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|sep=,|VC|KCB}} (14 August 1868 – 21 July 1941) was a senior officer in the [[British Army]] and a recipient of the [[Victoria Cross]], the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]] forces.

==Early life==
Born the son of [[Warington Wilkinson Smyth]], a noted geologist, his grandfather was Admiral [[William Henry Smyth]].<ref>{{acad|id=SMT835WW|name=Smyth, Warington Wilkinson}}</ref> His father's sister, Henrietta Grace Powell, was [[Robert Baden-Powell]]'s mother, making Baden-Powell, the founder of the [[Scouting|Scout Movement]], Smyth's first cousin.<ref name = bp>[http://www.pinetreeweb.com/bp-cousin-nevill-smyth-vc.htm BP's Cousin: Sir Nevill Maskelyne Smyth, V.C.]</ref>

Smyth was educated at [[Westminster School]] and graduated from the [[Royal Military College, Sandhurst]], in 1888. He was posted to the [[Queen's Bays (2nd Dragoon Guards)]] in India as a [[second lieutenant]] on 22 August 1888.<ref name = "adb">{{Australian Dictionary of Biography |last= Chapman|first= Ivan |year= 1990 |id= A120004b |title= Smyth, Sir Nevill Maskelyne (1868–1941) |accessdate=25 February 2009}}</ref><ref>{{London Gazette|issue=25848|page=4512|date=21 August 1888}}</ref> In 1890 he was attached to the [[Royal Engineers]] to assist with a railway survey during the Zhob Valley expedition.<ref name="adb" />

==Sudan==
In 1895 Smyth was stationed in Cairo with his regiment,<ref name = "adb"/> being promoted [[first lieutenant|lieutenant]] on 26 April of that year.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=26633|page=3317|date=11 June 1895}}</ref> From December 1895 until March 1896 he was attached to [[James Theodore Bent|Theodore Bent]]’s explorations in the Northern Sudan, being “kindly attached to our expedition by [[Reginald Wingate|Colonel Sir F. Wingate]]…”<ref>Theodore Bent (1896) ‘A Visit to the Northern Sudan’. ''[https://archive.org/details/geographicaljou05britgoog/page/337/mode/1up The Geographical Journal]'', Vol. 8 (4) (Oct), pp. 335–353; [[Mabel Bent]] (1900) ''[https://archive.org/details/southernarabia00bentuoft/page/288/mode/1up?q=smyth Southern Arabia]'' (London, p. 288).</ref> For his services in the initial stages of the [[Mahdist War]] he was [[mentioned in despatches]] on 3 November 1896,<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=26791|pages=6001–6005|date=3 November 1896}}</ref> and awarded the [[Order of the Medjidie|Order of the Medjidieh, Fourth Class]] in 1897.<ref name="ReferenceA">{{London Gazette|issue=26828|page=1254|date=2 March 1897}}</ref>

Smyth was promoted [[Captain (British Army and Royal Marines)|captain]] on 8 December 1897.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=26965|page=2890|date=10 May 1898}}</ref> On 2 September came the [[Battle of Omdurman]].<ref name="ReferenceA"/> Near to the end of the battle, a [[dervish]] tried to spear two [[war correspondent]]s; Smyth galloped forward and, though severely speared through the arm, shot the man dead. This action saw him awarded the [[Victoria Cross]].<ref name = bp/><ref name = "adb"/> The citation was [[London Gazette|gazetted]] on 15 November 1898, and read:

{{Quote|''War Office, November 15, 1898.''

THE Queen has been graciously pleased to signify Her intention to confer the decoration of the Victoria Cross on the undermentioned Officers and Private Soldier, whose claims have been
submitted for Her Majesty's approval, for their conspicuous bravery during the recent operations in the Soudan,{{sic}} as recorded against their names:—

[...]

2nd Dragoon Guards, Captain Nevill Maskelyne Smyth

At the Battle of Khartum on 2 September 1898, Captain Smyth galloped forward and attacked an arab who had run amok among some camp followers. Captain Smyth received the Arab's charge, and killed him, being wounded with a spear in the arm whilst in so doing. He thus saved the life of at least one of the Camp Followers.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=27023|page=6688|date=15 November 1898}}</ref>}}

Smyth was also Mentioned in Despatches.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=27009|pages=5728–5733|date=30 September 1898}}</ref> In November 1899 he was Intelligence officer and [[aide-de-camp]] to Colonel Lewis, commanding the Infantry Brigade during the operations leading to the defeat of the [[Abdallahi ibn Muhammad|Khalifa]] in the [[Battle of Umm Diwaykarat]]. He was Mentioned in Despatches,<ref>{{London Gazette| issue=27159 |page=599 |date=30 January 1900}}</ref> and was awarded the [[Order of Osmanieh]], Fourth Class in 1900.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=27217|page=4782|date=3 August 1900}}</ref>

[[File:Omdurman.jpg|thumb|left|125px|The Mahdi's followers at Omdurman]]
Smyth rejoined the Queens Bays for active service in South Africa in the [[Second Boer War]]. He was awarded a [[brevet (military)|brevet]] [[Major (British Army and Royal Marines)|majority]] on 22 August 1902 for his South African service.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=27490|page=6897|date=31 October 1902}}</ref> Smyth was promoted to substantive major on 27 October 1903 when he transferred to the [[Carabiniers (6th Dragoon Guards)]],<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=27609|page=6533|date=27 October 1903}}</ref> who were then in India, and returned to South Africa in 1908.<ref name = "adb"/> He was promoted [[Lieutenant colonel (United Kingdom)|lieutenant colonel]] on 1 May 1909,<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=28247|page=3388|date=4 May 1909}}</ref> and became [[commanding officer]] of the Carabiniers.<ref name = "adb"/> The regiment returned to England in 1912.<ref name = "adb"/> According to the ''[[London Gazette]]'', he completed the standard four-year period as a regimental commander on 1 May 1909, and was placed on half-pay.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=28715|page=3149|date=2 May 1913}}</ref> However, the same issue carried notice of his promotion to [[colonel (United Kingdom)|colonel]], backdated to 4 December 1912.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=28715|page=3151|date=2 May 1913}}</ref> He was seconded to the Egyptian Army, and in 1913–14 he was commandant of the Khartoum district where he was active in combating the [[History of slavery|slave trade]].<ref name = "adb"/>

==First World War==
[[File:NSmythVCGallipoli.jpg|thumb|right|Brigadier General Smyth and his [[brigade major]], Major Walter Cass, looking down Allah Gully towards Gaba Tepe, Gallipoli, 1915.]]

Smyth was dispatched to Gallipoli by Lord Kitchener, arriving there in May 1915. Promoted to the temporary rank of brigadier general that same month, he took command of the [[1st Brigade (Australia)|1st Australian Infantry Brigade]] after its previous commander, Brigadier General [[Henry Normand MacLaurin]], had been killed.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=29233|page=7042|date=16 July 1915|supp=y}}</ref> He led the brigade during the [[Gallipoli campaign]] at the [[Battle of Lone Pine]] and was one of the last officers to leave the peninsula during the evacuation from Gallipoli in late 1915. He was appointed a [[Companion of the Order of the Bath]] on 1 January 1916,<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=29438|pages=563–564|date=11 January 1916}}</ref> and received a further mention in despatches on 28 January 1916.<ref name = "adb"/><ref>{{London Gazette|issue=29429|supp=y|page=291|date=4 January 1916}}</ref><ref>{{London Gazette|issue=29455|supp=y|pages=1195–1206|date=28 January 1916}}</ref>

Smyth led the brigade in action on the [[Western Front (World War I)|Western Front]] later in 1916, and on 28 December was given command of the [[2nd Division (Australia)|2nd Australian Division]], for which he was made a temporary major general.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=29958|page=1881|date=23 February 1917}}</ref> He was mentioned in despatches twice more, on 15 May 1917 and 11 December 1917,<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=30072|supp=y|pages=4743–4752|date=15 May 1917}}</ref><ref>{{London Gazette|issue=30421|supp=y|pages=12907–12920|date=7 December 1917}}</ref> and was promoted substantive major general on 1 January 1918 as a "reward for distinguished service in the field."<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=30450|supp=y|page=8|date=28 December 1917}}</ref> He was transferred back to the British Army in May 1918 and briefly commanded the [[58th (2/1st London) Division]] and then the [[59th (2nd North Midland) Division]] from August 1918, leading the latter during the liberation of Lille in October 1918.<ref name = "adb"/><ref>{{London Gazette|issue=31111|supp=y|page=351|date=3 January 1919}}</ref> He had learned to fly in 1913 and was known for borrowing aircraft to look at the lines for himself.<ref name = bp/> He was yet again mentioned in despatches on 20 December 1918, by which time the war was over due to the [[Armistice of 11 November 1918]].<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=31077|supp=y|pages=14921–14933|date=17 December 1918}}</ref>

Smyth was appointed a [[Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath]] in the [[1919 Birthday Honours]].<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=31395|page=7420|date=6 June 1919}}</ref> On 30 July 1919 was appointed GOC [[47th (1/2nd London) Division]] ([[Territorial Force]]).<ref name = "adb"/><ref>{{London Gazette|issue=31492|supp=y|page=10056|date=5 August 1919}}</ref> During the war he had also been awarded the Belgian [[Croix de guerre (Belgium)|Croix de Guerre]],<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=30568|supp=y|pages=3095–3097|date=8 March 1918}}</ref> and the French [[Legion of Honour]] in the grade of Officer.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=31150|supp=y|pages=1445–1446|date=28 January 1919}}</ref> In all, he was Mentioned in Despatches eleven times during his career. He was appointed [[colonel of the regiment|colonel]] of the [[3rd Dragoon Guards]] on 1 October 1920.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=32091|supp=y|page=10158|date=19 October 1920}}</ref> He relinquished command of his division on 30 July 1923.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=32853|page=554|date=14 August 1923}}</ref> Smyth retired from the British Army on 5 July 1924,<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=32953|page=5163|date=4 July 1924}}</ref> and relinquished the colonelcy of the 3rd Dragoon Guards on 16 October 1925.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=33095|page=6841|date=23 October 1925}}</ref>

Smyth served as the Honorary Colonel of the South African [[Natal Carbineers]] from 1920 to 1925 and then of the 37/39th Australian Infantry Battalion.

In London in July 1918, Smyth married Evelyn Olwen Williams, daughter of Colonel [[Sir Osmond Williams, 1st Baronet|Sir Osmond Williams]], baronet and lord lieutenant of [[Merionethshire]]. Their three children were born in Britain before the family migrated to Australia.<ref name = "adb"/>

==Australia==
[[File:VCreuniondinner1920s.jpg|thumb|right|Formal group photograph taken at a Victoria Cross Reunion Dinner, sometime in the 1920s. Seated, second on the left, is Sir Nevill Smyth.]]

After his retirement, Smyth and his family migrated to Australia in 1925 to live on a farm at [[Balmoral, Victoria]]. He took to politics in the [[Nationalist Party of Australia]] and stood unsuccessfully for a Victorian casual vacancy in the [[Australian Senate]]. He died at home in 1941 and was buried in Balmoral Cemetery.<ref name = "adb"/>

One of his sons, [[Dacre Smyth]], followed a military career in the [[Royal Australian Navy]], rising to the rank of [[commodore (rank)|commodore]].<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20100523231104/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article5415111.ece Commodore Dacre Smyth: Battle of the Coral Sea veteran], ''[[The Times]]'', 30 December 2008.  Retrieved on 25 February 2009</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{UK National Archives ID}}
*{{Find a Grave|11841991}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Smyth, Nevill Maskelyne}}
[[Category:1868 births]]
[[Category:1941 deaths]]
[[Category:British Army major generals]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Westminster]]
[[Category:People educated at Westminster School, London]]
[[Category:2nd Dragoon Guards (Queen's Bays) officers]]
[[Category:3rd Dragoon Guards officers]]
[[Category:3rd Carabiniers officers]]
[[Category:British recipients of the Victoria Cross]]
[[Category:Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath]]
[[Category:British Army personnel of the Mahdist War]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Croix de guerre (Belgium)]]
[[Category:British emigrants to Australia]]
[[Category:British Army personnel of the Second Boer War]]
[[Category:Carabiniers (6th Dragoon Guards) officers]]
[[Category:Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst]]
[[Category:Egyptian military officers]]
[[Category:British Army cavalry generals of World War I]]
[[Category:Australian generals]]
[[Category:Australian military personnel of World War I]]
[[Category:Nationalist Party (Australia) politicians]]
[[Category:Officers of the Legion of Honour]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Order of the Medjidie]]
[[Category:British Army recipients of the Victoria Cross]]
[[Category:People of the Gallipoli campaign]]