Major-General James Desmond Blaise "Des" Smith,

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

, DSO,

KStJ The Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem (), commonly known as the Order of St John, and also known as St John International, is an order of chivalry constituted in 1888 by royal charter from Queen Victoria and dedica ...

, CD (2 October 1911 – 11 October 1991) was a senior

Canadian Army The Canadian Army () is the command (military formation), command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also re ...

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...

active in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, fighting in the Italian Campaign and

Northwest Europe Northwestern Europe, or Northwest Europe, is a loosely defined subregion of Europe, overlapping Northern Europe, Northern and Western Europe. The term is used in geographic, history, and military contexts. Geographic definitions Geography, Geo ...

Early life and military career

Smith was born in

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

, Ontario on 2 October 1911. He studied at the

Royal Military College of Canada The Royal Military College of Canada (), abbreviated in English as RMC and in French as CMR, is a Military academy#Canada, military academy and, since 1959, a List of universities in Canada#Ontario, degree-granting university of the Canadian ...

and graduated in 1933. On graduation he was promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

and attached to

the Royal Canadian Dragoons The Royal Canadian Dragoons (RCD) is the senior armoured regiment of the Canadian Army by precedence. It is one of three armoured regiments in the Regular Force and forms part of the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps. The colonel-in-chief of the RC ...

. He served in the infantry, and was called overseas in 1940 as a

staff officer A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, enlisted, and civilian staff who serve the commander of a division or other large milita ...

with the

1st Canadian Infantry Division The 1st Canadian Division (French: ) is a joint operational command and control formation based at CFB Kingston, and falls under Canadian Joint Operations Command. It is a high-readiness unit, able to move on very short notice, and is staffed a ...

, then stationed in the United Kingdom. He became a

brigadier Brigadier ( ) is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore (rank), commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several t ...

in 1943 and commanded the 5th Canadian Armoured Brigade in both the Italian and Northwest Europe Campaigns. He returned to Canada in 1945, and took over command of the Royal Military College. During the 1950s, he commanded Canadian forces in Europe as part of

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. He retired in 1962, to start work in the private sector, eventually moving to England. He retired in 1986, and died in London a few days after his 80th birthday in 1991.

World War II

Captain Smith's World War II overseas service began when the Royal Canadian Dragoons were sent to England, as part of the

. Smith earned his promotion from captain to major due to breaking the rules. He was ordered to get winter gear for troops that would be deployed in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. Finding nothing suitable, he just ordered proper gear from a company named Lilywhite's. Smith was summoned to appear before Major-General McNaughton because of the unauthorised expense; but instead of having to pay personally for the bill, he received a promotion. He ended his wartime career as Brigadier of the 1st Canadian Infantry Brigade.

Post-war military career

Between 1945 and his military retirement in 1962, Smith held several positions in Canada and the United Kingdom. His first peace time job was at his alma mater the Royal Military College. He commanded the college till 1947. In the period 1958–1962, Smith was Adjutant-General of the Canadian Army in Ottawa. In the meantime he held, amongst others, the position as chairman of the Canadian Joint Staff with the

. He was forced to leave the Army on Prime Minister

John Diefenbaker John George Diefenbaker (September 18, 1895 – August 16, 1979) was the 13th prime minister of Canada, serving from 1957 to 1963. He was the only Progressive Conservative Party of Canada, Progressive Conservative party leader between 1930 an ...

's instance, due to an extra-marital affair that became public knowledge.

Post-war civil career

Smith moved to England in 1962. After several minor jobs he joined Pillar Holdings in 1964. He was responsible for the engineering branch of that company: Pillar Engineering Limited. In 1986 he retired from his civil job, only to be appointed as the first Canadian member of the

Commonwealth War Graves Commission The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves and places of commemoration of Commonwealth of Nations mil ...

Personal

Smith was married twice, first Miriam Blackburn, until her death in 1969, and then to Belle Shenkman, a member of the Order of Canada. He had two sons from his first marriage, James and Stephen George Smith. He died in a hospital in London, England on 11 October 1991. There was first a memorial in London, and then a state funeral in Canada's capital city, Ottawa.

Senior military positions held

References

External links

Generals of World War II
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Desmond 1911 births 1991 deaths Military personnel from Ottawa Canadian generals Canadian Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Canadian Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Canadian Militia officers Canadian Army officers Royal Military College of Canada alumni Commandants of the Royal Military College of Canada Canadian expatriates in the United Kingdom Canadian Army personnel of World War II Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley Royal Canadian Dragoons officers Burials at Beechwood Cemetery (Ottawa)