Constance Babington Smith
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Constance Babington Smith
MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...
, FRSL (15 October 1912 – 31 July 2000) was a British journalist and writer, but is probably best known for her wartime work in imagery intelligence.


Early life

Constance Babington Smith was born on 15 October 1912 at Beech Law, Puttenham, Surrey. She was the daughter of the senior civil servant Sir Henry Babington Smith, a scion of the Babington family. Her mother, born Lady Elizabeth Bruce, was the eldest daughter of the 9th Earl of Elgin, making Constance a granddaughter of a
Viceroy of India The Governor-General of India (1773–1950, from 1858 to 1947 the Viceroy and Governor-General of India, commonly shortened to Viceroy of India) was the representative of the monarch of the United Kingdom and after Indian independence in 19 ...
and a great-great-granddaughter of the man who bought the
Elgin Marbles The Elgin Marbles (), also known as the Parthenon Marbles ( el, Γλυπτά του Παρθενώνα, lit. "sculptures of the Parthenon"), are a collection of Classical Greece, Classical Greek marble sculptures made under the supervision of th ...
. Constance came from a large family and was the seventh of nine children. Her father died in 1923, when she was ten. By then, her eldest brothers were already adults, whilst her youngest sister was just two years old. She was educated at home at the family home 'Chinthurst', in
Wonersh Wonersh is a village and civil parish in the Waverley district of Surrey, England and Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Wonersh contains three Conservation Areas and spans an area three to six miles SSE of Guildford. In the o ...
in Surrey. She finished her education in
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
and moved to
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
in adult life. A trained milliner, she worked for the
milliner Hat-making or millinery is the design, manufacture and sale of hats and other headwear. A person engaged in this trade is called a milliner or hatter. Historically, milliners, typically women shopkeepers, produced or imported an inventory of ...
Aage Thaarup Aage Thaarup (1906–1987) was a Danish-born Millinery, milliner who ran a celebrated hatmaking business in London between the 1930s and 1970s. Among his notable clients were the Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, Queen Mother and Elizabeth II, ...
before the
war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...
and also ''Vogue'' magazine in London, When her mother Elizabeth became ill in the 1930s, Constance Babington Smith had to move to
Weybridge Weybridge () is a town in the Borough of Elmbridge in Surrey, England, around southwest of central London. The settlement is recorded as ''Waigebrugge'' and ''Weibrugge'' in the 7th century and the name derives from a crossing point of the ...
to take care of her, a role often expected of the oldest unmarried daughter in a family.
Brooklands aerodrome Brooklands was a motor racing circuit and aerodrome built near Weybridge in Surrey, England, United Kingdom. It opened in 1907 and was the world's first purpose-built 'banked' motor racing circuit as well as one of Britain's first airfields ...
was nearby and she began to watch motor and air racing there as a distraction from her domestic duties. This stimulted an interest in aviation. On 23 December 1936 she ventured in to journalism by writing her first article as 'Babs' for ''
The Aeroplane ''Aeroplane'' (formerly ''Aeroplane Monthly'') is a British magazine devoted to aviation, with a focus on aviation history and preservation. __TOC__ ''The Aeroplane'' The weekly ''The Aeroplane'' launched in June 1911 under founding edito ...
'' magazine.


War service

Her knowledge of aircraft took her into the
WAAF WAAF may refer to: * w3af, (short for web application attack and audit framework), an open-source web application security scanner * Women's Auxiliary Air Force, a British military service in World War II ** Waaf, a member of the service * WAAF (AM ...
and photo intelligence in the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
. In December 1940, Babington Smith was in the fifth group of WAAFs trained in photographic interpretation in the top secret Photographic Development Unit, qualifying alonside Eve Holiday, Sarah Oliver, (
Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from ...
's daughter) and Ann McKnight Kauffer (daughter of the poster artist
Edward McKnight Kauffer Edward McKnight Kauffer (14 December 1890 – 22 October 1954) was an American artist and graphic designer who lived for much of his life in the United Kingdom. He worked mainly in poster art, but was also active as a painter, book illustrator a ...
), and Eve Holiday, initially based at Paduoc House, Wembley. The work concentrated on ships but Babington Smith's expertise with aeroplanes led to her being asked in early 1941 to set up an aircraft recognition section. It was unusual for a WAAF officer to head her own section without an RAF officer alongside. A colleague there, Ursula Powys-Lybbe, later wrote that "''Babs had sufficient strength of character, an extraordinary singleness of purpose together with total dedication to the task, mixed in with a modicum of determination necessary to be able to assume sole command of the new section''" The unit moved from London in after multiple bombings and she served with the Central Interpretation Unit (CIU) at
RAF Medmenham RAF Medmenham is a former Royal Air Force station based at Danesfield House near Medmenham, in Buckinghamshire, England. Activities there specialised in photographic intelligence, and it was once the home of the RAF Intelligence Branch. Durin ...
, Buckinghamshire, reaching the rank of
Flight Officer The title flight officer was a military rank used by the United States Army Air Forces during World War II, and also an air force rank in several Commonwealth countries, where it was used for female officers and was equivalent to the rank of fligh ...
. Serving alongside was her brother,
Bernard Babington Smith Bernard Babington Smith, OBE (1905-1993) was a British academic, wartime intelligence officer and amateur athlete. Early life and education He was born on 26 October 1905 at 29 Hyde Park Gate, London, the son of Sir Henry Babington Smith and ...
(1905-1993), who was also a photo interpreter (PI) at Medmenham and head of the Night Photograph Section. In 1942 she made an uncredited appearance in the Air Ministry feature film ''
Target for Tonight ''Target for Tonight'' (or ''Target for To-Night'') is a 1941 British World War II documentary film billed as filmed and acted by the Royal Air Force, all during wartime operations. It was directed by Harry Watt for the Crown Film Unit. The fi ...
'', along with her fellow Medmenham colleague, Sqn Ldr Peter Riddell. Working on the interpretation of
aerial reconnaissance Aerial reconnaissance is reconnaissance for a military or strategic purpose that is conducted using reconnaissance aircraft. The role of reconnaissance can fulfil a variety of requirements including artillery spotting, the collection of i ...
photographs, Constance was credited with the discovery of the V1 at
Peenemünde Peenemünde (, en, " Peene iverMouth") is a municipality on the Baltic Sea island of Usedom in the Vorpommern-Greifswald district in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is part of the ''Amt'' (collective municipality) of Usedom-Nord. The commu ...
,
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
. In 1942, Babington Smith was Mentioned in Dispatches for her work and in 1945 she was awarded the
MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...
. Her brother, Bernard, was also honoured for his work at the CIU, receiving the OBE. By 1944 the aircraft recognition section had eleven staff. She was portrayed in the 1965 film ''Operation Crossbow'' by Sylvia Syms. After
VE-Day Victory in Europe Day is the day celebrating the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces on Tuesday, 8 May 1945, marking the official end of World War II in Europe in the Easter ...
Constance was attached to USAAF Intelligence in
Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
to continue her work on photographic interpretation, this time for the Pacific theatre. In 1946, the United States awarded her the Legion of Merit.


Later life

From 1946 to 1950 she was a researcher for '' Life Magazine''. She later moved to
Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...
,
Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...
, where she converted to
Greek Orthodoxy The term Greek Orthodox Church (Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία, ''Ellinorthódoxi Ekklisía'', ) has two meanings. The broader meaning designates "the entire body of Orthodox (Chalcedonian) Christianity, sometimes also call ...
and become a writer and biographer. Her war memoir ''Evidence in Camera'' was in 1957 the first comprehensive narrative of British photographic reconnaissance in the Second World War. Because it was published before the revelation of wartime code-breaking, this book may also have contained a measure of Cold War disinformation. Her cousin was the writer
Rose Macaulay Dame Emilie Rose Macaulay, (1 August 1881 – 30 October 1958) was an English writer, most noted for her award-winning novel '' The Towers of Trebizond'', about a small Anglo-Catholic group crossing Turkey by camel. The story is seen as a spiritu ...
, Babington Smith writing a biography of her published in 1972. She appeared in several episodes of the 1977
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
TV series '' The Secret War'', where she discussed her wartime work as a photo interpreter as it related to the subject of the episode. Babington Smith was a founder and director of the
Mosquito Mosquitoes (or mosquitos) are members of a group of almost 3,600 species of small flies within the family Culicidae (from the Latin ''culex'' meaning " gnat"). The word "mosquito" (formed by ''mosca'' and diminutive ''-ito'') is Spanish for "li ...
Memorial Appeal Fund, now the de Havilland Museum Trust.


Ancestry


Bibliography

* ''How Photographic Detectives Solved Secret Weapons Mystery'' (LIFE, 28 October 1957) * ''Evidence In Camera'' (1957) - published as ''Air Spy'' in the US * ''Testing Time'' (1961) * ''Amy Johnson'' (1961) * ''Rose Macaulay'' (1972) * ''John Masefield; a Life'' (1978) * '' Iulia de Beausobre'' (1983) * ''Champion of Homeopathy: the Life of
Margery Blackie Margery Grace Blackie CVO MD, FFHom (4 February 1898 – 24 August 1981) was a British Doctor of Medicine who was appointed as the first woman royal physician to Queen Elizabeth II. Early life Blackie was born at Redbourn, Hertfordshire, o ...
'' (1986)


References


Further reading

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Babington Smith, Constance 1912 births 2000 deaths Writers from London English journalists 20th-century English writers English biographers Recipients of the Legion of Merit 20th-century British women writers Women's Auxiliary Air Force airwomen English Eastern Orthodox Christians 20th-century biographers Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature
Constance Constance may refer to: Places *Konstanz, Germany, sometimes written as Constance in English *Constance Bay, Ottawa, Canada * Constance, Kentucky * Constance, Minnesota * Constance (Portugal) * Mount Constance, Washington State People * Consta ...
Women biographers People from Surrey