Eric Smith (British Army officer)

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Eric Smith
Birth nameEric David Smith
Nickname(s)Birdie
BornAugust 1923
Malaysia-Indonesia Confrontation
AwardsCBE
DSO

Brigadier Eric David "Birdie" Smith

Malaysia-Indonesia Confrontation
. He was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1975.

Early life

Birdie Smith, was born in

7th Gurkha Rifles in 1942.[1] He served with the 2nd/7th Gurkhas in India and Palestine from 1942 to 1944.[2]

Military career

He joined the 4th Indian Division in Italy and fought at Castle Hill during the Battle of Monte Cassino.[2] Later in the Italian campaign, at midnight on 3 September 1944, Smith led Letter C company, 2nd Battalion, the 7th Gurkha Rifles in the attack on Tavoleto, on the Gothic Line, which was heavily defended. The Gurkhas attack was met by heavy enemy machine gun fire and later a heavy mortar barrage. Smith although wounded in the leg, killed all the occupants of the first Spandau post encountered with grenades and machine-gun fire; he continued to lead his company which during the fierce fighting was reduced from approximately 100 men to 28 and successfully cleared the village. He was awarded the DSO for his leadership and gallantry whilst wounded during the attack.[10][1]

He later served in Greece from November 1944 to 1946 and in India from 1946 to 1947. He also attended the Staff College, Camberley. He served as a Gurkha recruiting officer in Darjeeling, India, from 1948 to 1950.[2] He served as an intelligence officer in the Malayan Emergency from 1950 to 1956 and also served in the Cyprus Emergency.[1]

In 1962 Smith was posted to Borneo as second-in-command of 1/7th Gurkhas.[1][2] On 20 April 1964 he was involved in a helicopter crash in the Borneo jungle.[3] The Journey made on a Wessex helicopter commenced at Sibu, Sarawak, and the destination was a forward company base operating north of the Indonesian border.[4][3] Following the crash, to free him from the wreckage, his right arm was amputated by the battalion's medical officer Captain, later Major-General Patrick Crawford using an Army clasp knife. During the amputation he was fully conscious.[1] He was later taken by another helicopter to Kuching for further surgery.[5] He remained in Borneo and a year after the helicopter crash took over command of the 1st/2nd Gurkhas.[1][4] He remained in command of the 1st/2nd Gurkhas following their move to Hong Kong.[1]

His final post was commanding the Gurkha recruiting bases in Nepal.[1]

He retired from the British Army on 1 June 1978.[6]

Honours and later life

Smith was Colonel of the 7th Gurkhas from 1975 to 1982.[1][7] He was appointed MBE in 1952 and CBE in 1975.[1][8][9]

Smith died on 7 March 1998. He was survived by his wife and two daughters.[1]

Works

Smith was the author of several books on Gurkha history,[1] including:

  • East of Katmandu The Story of the 7th Duke of Edinburgh's Own Gurkha Rifles. 1976. .
  • Britain's Brigade of Gurkhas. Leo Cooper (Famous regiments). 1983. .
  • Counter-Insurgency Operations. 1, Malaya and Borneo. London: Ian Allan. 1985. .
  • VALOUR - A History of the Gurkhas. Spellmount Staplehurst. 1997. .

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Obituary". The Herald. Glasgow. 24 March 1998.
  2. ^ a b c d "Smith, Eric David 'Birdie' (Oral history)". Imperial War Museums. 22 September 1994. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
  3. ^ a b Obituary Major-General Patrick Crawford, The Daily Telegraph 23 March 2009.
  4. ^ .
  5. .
  6. ^ The London Gazette. 12 June 1978. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  7. ^ "No. 46685". The London Gazette (Supplement). 16 September 1975. p. 11642.
  8. ^ "No. 49142". The London Gazette (Supplement). 19 October 1982. p. 13583.
  9. ^ Supplement to London Gazette 1 January 1975.
  • Supplement to the London Gazette, 8 March 1945.