Brigadier Eric David "Birdie" Smith

CBE 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 ...

DSO (August 1923 – 7 March 1998) was a senior

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

officer and

military historian Military history is the study of armed conflict in the history of humanity, and its impact on the societies, cultures and economies thereof, as well as the resulting changes to local and international relationships. Professional historians norma ...

who was awarded the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typ ...

, for leadership and gallantry on 3 September 1944, whilst serving with the 2nd Battalion, the

7th Gurkha Rifles The 7th Gurkha Rifles was a rifle regiment of the British Indian Army, before being transferred to the British Army, following India's independence in 1947 and after 1959 designated as the 7th Duke of Edinburgh's Own Gurkha Rifles. History F ...

in Italy, during 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 opposin ...

. Smith later commanded the 1st/2nd Gurkhas in

Borneo Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and eas ...

during the 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

Cupar Cupar ( ; gd, Cùbar) is a town, former royal burgh and parish in Fife, Scotland. It lies between Dundee and Glenrothes. According to a 2011 population estimate, Cupar had a population around 9,000, making it the ninth-largest settlement in Fif ...

, Fife,

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

in August 1923. He was nicknamed Birdie because his nose was considered to resemble a bird's beak. He was educated at

Allhallows College Allhallows College, previously known as Allhallows School, was an independent public school for boys in Devon, in the west of England. Predominantly a boarding school, but with some day boys, it was founded in Honiton about 1515, moved to a new ...

, Dorset. He joined the

Indian Army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...

in 1941 and following attendance at the Officer Training Unit at

Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

was commissioned and posted to the

in 1942. He served with the 2nd/7th Gurkhas in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

and

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 ...

from 1942 to 1944.

Military career

He joined the 4th Indian Division in Italy and fought at Castle Hill during the

Battle of Monte Cassino The Battle of Monte Cassino, also known as the Battle for Rome and the Battle for Cassino, was a series of four assaults made by the Allies against German forces in Italy during the Italian Campaign of World War II. The ultimate objective was ...

. 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 Tavoleto is a ''comune'' (municipality) with some 868 inhabitants in the Province of Pesaro e Urbino in the Italian region Marche, located about northwest of Ancona and about southwest of Pesaro. Tavoleto borders the following municipalities: ...

, on the

Gothic Line The Gothic Line (german: Gotenstellung; it, Linea Gotica) was a German Defense line, defensive line of the Italian Campaign (World War II), Italian Campaign of World War II. It formed Generalfeldmarschall, Field Marshal Albert Kesselring's la ...

, 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. 0ref name="Herald" /> He later served in

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

from November 1944 to 1946 and in

from 1946 to 1947. He also attended the

Staff College, Camberley Staff College, Camberley, Surrey, was a staff college for the British Army and the presidency armies of British India (later merged to form the Indian Army). It had its origins in the Royal Military College, High Wycombe, founded in 1799, which i ...

. He served as a Gurkha recruiting officer in

Darjeeling Darjeeling (, , ) is a town and municipality in the northernmost region of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located in the Eastern Himalayas, it has an average elevation of . To the west of Darjeeling lies the easternmost province of Nepal, ...

, India, from 1948 to 1950. He served as an intelligence officer in the

Malayan Emergency The Malayan Emergency, also known as the Anti–British National Liberation War was a guerrilla war fought in British Malaya between communist pro-independence fighters of the Malayan National Liberation Army (MNLA) and the military forces o ...

from 1950 to 1956 and also served in the

Cyprus Emergency The Cyprus Emergency ( gr, Απελευθερωτικός Αγώνας της Κύπρου 1955–59), also known as the Greek Cypriot War of Independence or Cypriot War of Independence, was a conflict fought in British Cyprus between November 19 ...

. In 1962 Smith was posted to

as second-in-command of 1/7th Gurkhas. On 20 April 1964 he was involved in a helicopter crash in the Borneo jungle.Obituary Major-General Patrick Crawford, The Daily Telegraph 23 March 2009. The Journey made on a Wessex helicopter commenced at

Sibu Sibu (; Foochow Romanized, Hokchew Romanized: ''Sĭ-bŭ'') is a landlocked city in the central region of Sarawak. It is the capital of Sibu District in Sibu Division, Sarawak, Malaysia. The city is located on the island of Borneo and covers ...

, Sarawak, and the destination was a forward company base operating north of the Indonesian border. 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. He was later taken by another helicopter to

Kuching Kuching (), officially the City of Kuching, is the capital and the most populous city in the States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Sarawak in Malaysia. It is also the capital of Kuching Division. The city is on the Sarawak River ...

for further surgery. He remained in Borneo and a year after the helicopter crash took over command of the 1st/2nd Gurkhas. He remained in command of the 1st/2nd Gurkhas following their move to Hong Kong. His final post was commanding the Gurkha recruiting bases in

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

. He retired from the British Army on 1 June 1978.

Honours and later life

Smith was Colonel of the 7th Gurkhas from 1975 to 1982. He was appointed MBE in 1952 and CBE in 1975.Supplement to London Gazette 1 January 1975. Smith died on 7 March 1998. He was survived by his wife and two daughters.

Works

Smith was the author of several books on Gurkha history, including: * * * *

References

* Supplement to the London Gazette, 8 March 1945. {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Eric 1998 deaths 1923 births Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Royal Gurkha Rifles officers Indian Army personnel of World War II People educated at Allhallows College People from Cupar British Indian Army officers British Army personnel of the Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation British Army brigadiers Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley Military personnel from Fife British military personnel of the Malayan Emergency British military personnel of the Cyprus Emergency Scottish amputees