Herbert Warington Smyth (4 June 1867 – 19 December 1943) CMG, FGS,

FRGS The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

, was a British traveller, writer, naval officer and mining engineer who served the government of

Siam Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

and held several important posts in the

Union of South Africa The Union of South Africa (; , ) was the historical predecessor to the present-day South Africa, Republic of South Africa. It came into existence on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the British Cape Colony, Cape, Colony of Natal, Natal, Tra ...

Early life

Known as Warington, he was the elder son of Sir Warington Wilkinson Smyth FRS, Professor of Mining at the

Royal School of Mines The Royal School of Mines comprises the departments of Earth Science and Engineering, and Materials at Imperial College London. The Centre for Advanced Structural Ceramics and parts of the London Centre for Nanotechnology and Department of Bioe ...

, and his wife Anna Maria Antonia Story Maskelyne. His younger brother Sir Nevill Maskelyne Smyth won the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...

at the

Battle of Omdurman The Battle of Omdurman, also known as the Battle of Karary, was fought during the Anglo-Egyptian conquest of Sudan between a British–Egyptian expeditionary force commanded by British Commander-in-Chief (sirdar) major general Horatio Herbert ...

. He was educated at

Westminster School Westminster School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Westminster, London, England, in the precincts of Westminster Abbey. It descends from a charity school founded by Westminster Benedictines before the Norman Conquest, as do ...

and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

Career

After being an unpaid assistant to the Mineral Adviser to the Office of Woods from 1890 to 1891, he went to Siam. There he was Secretary of the Royal Department of Mines and Geology from 1891 to 1895 and Director General from 1895 to 1897. He became a Commander of the

Order of the White Elephant __NOTOC__ The Most Exalted Order of the White Elephant (; ) is an order (decoration), order of Thailand. It was established in 1861 by King Mongkut, Rama IV of the Thailand, Kingdom of Siam. Along with the Order of the Crown of Thailand, it is r ...

of Siam and received the Murchison Award of the R.G.S. for journeys in Siam in 1898. In 1898, he was secretary of the Siamese legation from 1898 to 1901. Warington Smyth was called to the bar in 1899 and in 1900 was delegate for

to the Congres International, Paris Exhibition. In 1900, he was Hon Secretary for London of the National Committee for the organization of a Volunteer Naval reserve. In 1901 he went to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

where he was Secretary for Mines in the Transvaal from 1901 to 1910. He was also Member of Legislative and Executive Councils, Transvaal in 1906 and 1907 and a JP and Advocate of the Supreme Court of the Transvaal. He was also President of the Transvaal Cornish Association from 1907 to 1910, in which year he was awarded the

Queen's South Africa medal The Queen's South Africa Medal is a British campaign medal awarded to British and Colonial military personnel, and to civilians employed in an official capacity, who served in the Second Boer War in South Africa. Altogether twenty-six clasps wer ...

. From 1910, he was Secretary for Mines and Industries in South Africa and Commissioner of Mines for Natal as well as Chief Inspector of Factories. He took an active part in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

as an Acting Sub Lieutenant RNR in 1914, serving as Assistant Naval Transport Officer in the South-West Africa Campaign 1914 to 1915, when he was mentioned in dispatches. He became Lieutenant RNVR and Acting Naval Senior Officer at the Cape from 1915 to 1916, and Controller of Imports and Exports for the

in 1917. In 1919 he was awarded the C.M.G. Following the war, he was South African government delegate to the International Labour Conferences at Washington in 1919 and Geneva in 1922. He retired in 1927 and returned to England, living at

Falmouth, Cornwall Falmouth ( ; ) is a town, civil parish and port on the River Fal on the south coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. Falmouth was founded in 1613 by the Killigrew family on a site near the existing Pendennis Castle. It developed as a po ...

where he enjoyed yachting. 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 ...

, he was still active in the RNVR, serving in 1940 as Lieutenant Commander. He died in 1943 at

Redruth Redruth ( , ) is a town and civil parishes in Cornwall, civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. According to the 2011 census, the population of Redruth was 14,018 In the same year the population of the Camborne-Redruth urban area, ...

Family

In 1900 he married Amabel Mary (1879-1965), third daughter of Sir Henry John Sutton KC and his wife Caroline Elizabeth Nanson. They had one daughter Amabel and three sons, Bevil, Nigel and Rodney. His wife's sister Marjorie was married to Julius Bertram

Publications

* ''Journey on the Upper Me Kong'' 1895 *''Five years in Siam: from 1891-1896'' (1898). Reprint 1994 Bangkok : White Lotus. .
Chapter 1
*''Mast and Sail in Europe and Asia'' 1st edition 1906, 2nd edition 1929 *''Sea-Wake and Jungle trail'' 1925 *''Chase and Chance in Indo-China'' 1934

References

*Roy Macleod ''"Instructed men" and Mining Engineers: The associates of the Royal School of Mines and British Imperial Science, 1851–1920'' Minerva Volume 32, Number 4 / December, 1994

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Smyth, Herbert Warington British travel writers Royal Navy officers British expatriates in Thailand Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society Fellows of the Geological Society of London Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War I People educated at Westminster School, London Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George 1867 births 1943 deaths British expatriates in South Africa Expatriates in the Rattanakosin Kingdom