Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

David de Crespigny Smiley, (11 April 1916 – 9 January 2009) was a British special forces and intelligence officer. He fought in the Second World War in

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

, the Western Desert and with

Special Operations Executive The Special Operations Executive (SOE) was a secret British World War II organisation. It was officially formed on 22 July 1940 under Minister of Economic Warfare Hugh Dalton, from the amalgamation of three existing secret organisations. Its pu ...

(SOE) in

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

and

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

Biography

Early life

Smiley was the 4th and youngest son of Sir John Smiley, 2nd Baronet and Valerie Champion de Crespigny, youngest daughter of Sir

Claude Champion de Crespigny Captain Claude Champion de Crespigny, DSO (11 September 1873 – 18 May 1910) was a British soldier and polo player. Early life He was the eldest, and heir apparent, of nine children born to the former Louisa Margaret McKerrall, and Sir Claude ...

, who was a noted jockey, balloonist, sportsman and adventurer. His father fought in the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...

between 1899 and 1900 with 4th Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders before joining the North of Ireland Imperial Yeomanry (redesignated the

North Irish Horse The North Irish Horse was a yeomanry unit of the British Territorial Army raised in the northern counties of Ireland in the aftermath of the Second Boer War. Raised and patronised by the nobility from its inception to the present day, it was on ...

in 1908). He gained the rank of major in the service of the

Carabiniers (6th Dragoon Guards) The Carabiniers (6th Dragoon Guards) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army. It was formed in 1685 as the Lord Lumley's Regiment of Horse. It was renamed as His Majesty's 1st Regiment of Carabiniers in 1740, the 3rd Regiment of Horse (Carabi ...

and fought in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. David Smiley was educated at the Nautical College,

Pangbourne Pangbourne is a large village and civil parish on the River Thames in Berkshire, England. Pangbourne has its own shops, schools, a railway station on the Great Western main line and a village hall. Outside its grouped developed area is an in ...

, Berkshire, England, where he was a noted sportsman. Some have suggested that

John le Carré David John Moore Cornwell (19 October 193112 December 2020), better known by his pen name John le Carré ( ), was a British and Irish author, best known for his espionage novels, many of which were successfully adapted for film or television. ...

consciously or unconsciously took David Smiley's surname for that of his hero

George Smiley George Smiley OBE is a fictional character created by John le Carré. Smiley is a career intelligence officer with "The Circus", the British overseas intelligence agency. He is a central character in the novels ''Call for the Dead'', ''A Mur ...

Military career

Smiley attended the

Royal Military College, Sandhurst The Royal Military College (RMC), founded in 1801 and established in 1802 at Great Marlow and High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, England, but moved in October 1812 to Sandhurst, Berkshire, was a British Army military academy for training infantry a ...

, in 1934, and was commissioned into the

Royal Horse Guards The Royal Regiment of Horse Guards (The Blues) (RHG) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, part of the Household Cavalry. Raised in August 1650 at Newcastle upon Tyne and County Durham by Sir Arthur Haselrigge on the orders of Oliver Cr ...

in 1936. While based in

Windsor, Berkshire Windsor is a historic market town and unparished area in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, England. It is the site of Windsor Castle, one of the official residences of the British monarch. The town is situated west of ...

, with the Blues, he was seen as a "man-about-town", owning a

Bentley Bentley Motors Limited is a British designer, manufacturer and marketer of luxury cars and SUVs. Headquartered in Crewe, England, the company was founded as Bentley Motors Limited by W. O. Bentley (1888–1971) in 1919 in Cricklewood, North ...

car and a

Miles Whitney Straight The Miles M.11 Whitney Straight was a 1930s twin-seat cabin monoplane designed and produced by the British aircraft manufacturer Miles Aircraft. It was named after Whitney Straight, a Grand Prix motor racing driver, aviator and businessman. Th ...

aircraft. He was also an amateur jockey and won seven races under

National Hunt In horse racing in the United Kingdom, France and Republic of Ireland, National Hunt racing requires horses to jump fences and ditches. National Hunt racing in the UK is informally known as "jumps" and is divided into two major distinct branches: ...

rules. After the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, Smiley's regiment sailed for

, where one of his first jobs was to shoot his troop of forty horses when it became clear they were of no use in modern combat. In 1940 Smiley joined the

Somaliland Camel Corps The Somaliland Camel Corps (SCC) was a Rayid unit of the British Army based in British Somaliland. It lasted from the early 20th century until 1944. Beginnings and the Dervish rebellion In 1888, after signing successive treaties with the then r ...

, but was to arrive at

Berbera Berbera (; so, Barbara, ar, بربرة) is the capital of the Sahil region of Somaliland and is the main sea port of the country. Berbera is a coastal city and was the former capital of the British Somaliland protectorate before Hargeisa. It ...

the same day it was decided to evacuate

British Somaliland British Somaliland, officially the Somaliland Protectorate ( so, Dhulka Maxmiyada Soomaalida ee Biritishka), was a British Empire, British protectorate in present-day Somaliland. During its existence, the territory was bordered by Italian Soma ...

. He returned frustrated to Egypt where he persuaded family friend General Wavell to recommend him for the newly formed commandos. Smiley was appointed a company commander (with the rank of captain) with

52 Commando 5 (five) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number, and cardinal number, following 4 and preceding 6, and is a prime number. It has attained significance throughout history in part because typical humans have five digits on eac ...

and his first mission was sneaking from Sudan into Abyssinia. He fought against

Vichy French Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its terr ...

forces in

. For his reconnaissance work in ruins near

Palmyra Palmyra (; Palmyrene: () ''Tadmor''; ar, تَدْمُر ''Tadmur'') is an ancient city in present-day Homs Governorate, Syria. Archaeological finds date back to the Neolithic period, and documents first mention the city in the early second ...

he was

mentioned in despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

(Middle-East, 1941). Smiley was recruited by the

(SOE) 1943 and undertook his first operation with them in Palestine in the same year. Later 1943 he parachuted into Albania where he co-ordinated partisan operations for eight months, and was awarded an immediate

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC i ...

. In April 1944 Smiley and Lieutenant Colonel Neil " Billy" McLean again parachuted into Albania, carrying out guerrilla operations, for which Smiley was awarded a

Bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

to the Military Cross in 1944. He was also appointed an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

in 1946 for his service with the SOE in Thailand. He was Colonel of the

between December 1951 to December 1954. He rode behind

The Queen In the English-speaking world, The Queen most commonly refers to: * Elizabeth II (1926–2022), Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 1952 until her death The Queen may also refer to: * Camilla, Queen Consort (born 1947), ...

in the

Gold State Coach The Gold State Coach is an enclosed, eight-horse-drawn carriage used by the British Royal Family. Commissioned in 1760 by Francis Rawdon-Hastings, 1st Marquess of Hastings for King George III, it was built in the London workshops of Samuel Bu ...

in the Coronation Procession on 2 June 1953. He was appointed as a Member of the Fourth Class of the Royal Victorian Order in 1952 and received the Coronation Medal. He was British

Military Attaché A military attaché is a military expert who is attached to a diplomatic mission, often an embassy. This type of attaché post is normally filled by a high-ranking military officer, who retains a commission while serving with an embassy. Opport ...

to Stockholm between 1955 and 1958. After the war, he held the record for the most falls in one season on the

Cresta Run The Cresta Run is a natural ice skeleton racing toboggan track in eastern Switzerland. Located in the winter sports town of St. Moritz, the run is one of the few in the world dedicated entirely to skeleton. It was built in 1884 near the ha ...

in St Moritz; bizarrely, he represented Kenya (where he owned a farm) in the Commonwealth Winter Games of 1960. He was Commander of the Sultan of Muscat and Oman's Armed Forces between 1958 and 1961. He was Military Advisor to Yemen between 1962 and 1967.

Later work

Smiley was the author of three books based on his experiences, ''Arabian Assignment'', ''Albanian Assignment'' and ''Irregular Regular''. Smiley died on 9 January 2009, survived by his wife, Moyra (daughter of Lieutenant Colonel Lord Francis George Montagu Douglas Scott, KCMG, DSO, the 6th Duke of Buccleuch's youngest son; and Lady Eileen Nina Evelyn Sibell Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound – married 28 April 1947) two sons, Xan de Crespigny Smiley (born 1 May 1949) and Philip David Smiley (born 26 Aug 1951), a stepson and a stepdaughter.

Awards and decorations

Lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, o ...

Mentioned in Despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

1941 – for operations in the Middle-East *

1943 – SOE operations in Albania * Bar to the Military Cross – 1944 * French

Croix de Guerre The ''Croix de Guerre'' (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awa ...

1945 – Indochina *

1946 – SOE operations in Thailand * He was admitted to

Honourable Corps of Gentlemen at Arms His Majesty's Body Guard of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen at Arms is a bodyguard to the British Monarch. Until 17 March 1834, they were known as The Honourable Band of Gentlemen Pensioners. Formation The corps was formed as the Troop of Ge ...

in 1966. * Knight Commander,

Order of the Sword The Royal Order of the Sword (officially: ''Royal Order of the Sword''; Swedish: ''Kungliga Svärdsorden'') is a Swedish order of chivalry and military decoration created by King Frederick I of Sweden on February 23, 1748, together with the Or ...

of Sweden * Grand Cordon,

Order of Skanderbeg Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of ...

of Albania * Order of Freedom of Albania (1st Class)

Gallery

Service of Major David Smiley With the Special Operations Executive (soe) in Albania, 1943 - 1944. HU65147.jpg, David Smiley as a Major in the SOE in Albania Sultan

Said bin Taimur Said bin Taimur ( ar, سعيد بن تيمور; 13 August 1910 – 19 October 1972) was the 13th Sultan of Muscat and Oman from 10 February 1932 until he was deposed on 23 July 1970 by his son Qaboos bin Said. He was a member of the House of A ...

of Muscat and Colonel David Smiley of the British Army.png, Sultan Said bin Taimur of Muscat and Colonel David Smiley when he was Commander of the Sultan's Armed Forces

Bibliography

* David Smiley, "Arabian Assignment", with Peter Kemp (Peter Mant McIntyre Kemp) – Cooper – London – 1975 (). With numerous photographs. * David Smiley, "Albanian Assignment", foreword by

Patrick Leigh Fermor Sir Patrick Michael Leigh Fermor (11 February 1915 – 10 June 2011) was an English writer, scholar, soldier and polyglot. He played a prominent role in the Cretan resistance during the Second World War, and was widely seen as Britain's greates ...

– Chatto & Windus – London – 1984 (). With numerous photographs. * David Smiley, "Irregular Regular", Michael Russell – Norwich – 1994 (). Translated in French by Thierry Le Breton, Au coeur de l'action clandestine des commandos au MI6'', L'Esprit du Livre Editions, France, 2008 (). With numerous photographs. * Clive Jones, "The Clandestine Lives of Colonel David Smiley: Code Name 'Grin', Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2019 () With photographs. * Colonel Dayrell Oakley-Hill et David Smiley (Introduction) "An Englishman in Albania: Memoirs of a British Officer 1929–1955 ", The Centre for Albanian Studies, Learning Design Limited, London, 2002 (). With numerous photographs. * David Smiley, foreword of "General of the Dead Army",

Ismail Kadare Ismail Kadare (; spelled Ismaïl Kadaré in French; born on 28 January 1936) is an Albanian novelist, poet, essayist, screenwriter, and playwright. He is a leading international literary figure and intellectual. He focused on poetry until the pu ...

(). * Leroy Thompson et Ken MacSwan, ''Uniforms of the soldiers of fortune'' – Blandford Press – Poole – 1985 (ASIN B000V9AOHE). David Smiley is pictured in Yemen. * Roderick Bailey, ''The Wildest Province : SOE in the Land of the Eagle'' – 2008 – Jonathan Cape Ltd (). * Bernd J. Fischer, ''Albania at War, 1939–1945'', West Lafayette, Purdue University Press, 1999 (). * E. Bruce Reynolds, ''Thailand's Secret War. The Free Thai, OSS, and SOE during World War II'', Cambridge University Press, 2004. SOE in Thailand, 1945 (). David Smiley is photographed page 377 with his Force 136 team. * Stephen Dorril, ''MI6 : Inside the Covert World of Her Majesty's Secret Intelligence Service'' The Free Press, New York, 2000 ( ).

References

External links

Imperial War Museum Interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smiley, David People educated at Pangbourne College British Army personnel of World War II Honourable Corps of Gentlemen at Arms Lieutenants of the Royal Victorian Order Officers of the Order of the British Empire Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 (France) Recipients of the Military Cross Recipients of the Order of the Sword Recipients of the Order of Skanderbeg (1925–45) Royal Horse Guards officers Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst British Special Operations Executive personnel North Irish Horse officers 1916 births 2009 deaths Military history of Albania during World War II Somaliland Camel Corps officers