Quentin George Murray Smythe (6 August 1916 – 22 October 1997) was a South African recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with " republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from th ...

forces.

Early life

Smythe was born on 6 August 1916, the grandson of the penultimate Prime Minister of Natal,

Charles Smythe Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was "f ...

and was educated at Weston Agricultural College and

Estcourt High School Estcourt High School is a school in Estcourt, South Africa that traces its origins to the Estcourt Government School which was founded in 1886. The high school itself was founded in 1924 when the government school was split into a high school and ...

Military career

During the Second World War, he served with the 1st Battalion

Royal Natal Carabineers The Ingobamakhosi Carbineers (formerly Natal Carbineers) is an infantry unit of the South African Army. History Origins The regiment traces its roots to 1854 but it was formally raised on 15 January 1855 and gazetted on 13 March of that year, ...

1st SA Infantry Division, South African Forces in the East Africa Campaign against the Italians before moving to the Western Desert.

Victoria Cross

He was 25 years old, and a sergeant when the South African Forces were attacked near

Alem Hamza : Alem is a village in the Dutch province of Gelderland. It is a part of the municipality of Maasdriel, and lies about 10 km north of 's-Hertogenbosch. It used to part of the province in North Brabant. In 1934, it became part of Gelderland. ...

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Su ...

. During the attack, Smythe realised that there was no officer to command his platoon and took charge himself. Although he had a wound in his forehead, causing much loss of blood, he managed single-handedly to obliterate a machine gun post, taking all the surviving crew prisoner. Then, again single-handedly and armed only with rifle and bayonet, he promptly did the same with an enemy anti-tank gun crew, after which he consolidated the position. However, because of the deterioration of the situation elsewhere, he found himself ordered to withdraw. He was awarded the

for his bravery, the citation was

gazetted A gazette is an official journal, a newspaper of record, or simply a newspaper. In English and French speaking countries, newspaper publishers have applied the name ''Gazette'' since the 17th century; today, numerous weekly and daily newspaper ...

on 11 September 1942: Quentin Smythe VC - IWM E17438

Later life

He married Dale Griffiths, in 1945 (dissolved 1970); they had three sons and one daughter. He married Margaret Joan Shatwell in 1970; she died in 1980. He married his third wife, Patricia Stamper, in 1984. He later achieved the rank of

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

and after the war served with the South African Ministry of Defence. On leaving the Department of Defence, he returned to farming in the Richmond area of Natal. He was an outstanding marksman, a passionate conservationist and animal lover. He died from cancer in Parklands Hospital

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

, South Africa in October 1997.

The medal

Auctioned in UK 1998, the medal is now part of the Lord Ashcroft Collection at the Imperial War Museum in London.

Notes

References

Monuments to Courage David Charles Harvey (29 July 1946 – 4 March 2004) was a historian and author. He is notable for his seminal work, ''Monuments To Courage'', which documents the graves of almost all recipients of the Victoria Cross, a task that took him over 36 ...

(David Harvey, 1999) *

The Register of the Victoria Cross ''The Register of the Victoria Cross'' is a reference work that provides brief information on every Victoria Cross awarded until the publication date. Each entry provides a summary of the deed, along with a photograph of the recipient and the fol ...

(This England, 1997)

External links

Sergeant Q.G.M. Smythe
in ''The Art of War'' exhibition at the UK National Archives
News Item
''(obituary)''

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smythe, Quentin George Murray 1916 births 1997 deaths People from uMngeni Local Municipality White South African people South African people of British descent South African Army officers South African military personnel of World War II South African recipients of the Victoria Cross South African World War II recipients of the Victoria Cross South Africa–United Kingdom relations Deaths from cancer in South Africa