John ("Jake") Richard Easonsmith (12 April 1909 – 16 November 1943) was a

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 ...

soldier during

World War II 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 ...

. He was killed in action on the

Dodecanese The Dodecanese (, ; el, Δωδεκάνησα, ''Dodekánisa'' , ) are a group of 15 larger plus 150 smaller Greek islands in the southeastern Aegean Sea and Eastern Mediterranean, off the coast of Turkey's Anatolia, of which 26 are inhabited. ...

island of

Leros Leros ( el, Λέρος) is a Greek island and municipality in the Dodecanese in the southern Aegean Sea. It lies (171 nautical miles) from Athens's port of Piraeus, from which it can be reached by an 9-hour ferry ride or by a 45-minute flight fr ...

whilst commanding the

Long Range Desert Group )Gross, O'Carroll and Chiarvetto 2009, p.20 , patron = , motto = ''Non Vi Sed Arte'' (Latin: ''Not by Strength, but by Guile'') (unofficial) , colours = , colours_label ...

in 1943. W. B. Kennedy-Shaw described him as: "Brave, wise, with an uprightness that shamed lesser men, he was, I think, the finest man we ever had in the L.R.D.G."

Early life

John Richard Easonsmith was born in

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

, England, on 12 April 1909, the son of George Easonsmith, a printer, and Daisy Easonsmith. He received his education at

Mill Hill School Mill Hill School is a 13–18 mixed independent, day and boarding school in Mill Hill, London, England that was established in 1807. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. History A committee of Nonconformist me ...

in London, and

Clifton College ''The spirit nourishes within'' , established = 160 years ago , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent boarding and day school , religion = Christian , president = , head_label = Head of College , head ...

, Bristol. After leaving school he joined W.D. and H.O. Wills a British a tobacco importer and cigarette manufacturer in Bristol. Afterwards he entered the wine trade as a salesman with the Emu Australian Wine Company Limited. Recreationally he was a member and played for the

Clifton Rugby Football Club Clifton Rugby Football Club is an English rugby union club founded in Clifton, Bristol. Over the years the club's home games have been played in a variety of locations in northern Bristol, though never in Clifton itself; since 1976 they have ...

.''

Bristol Evening Post The ''Bristol Post'' is a city/regional five-day-a-week (formerly appearing six days per week) newspaper covering news in the city of Bristol, including stories from the whole of Greater Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire. It was ...

'' 24 November 1943: Obituary John Richard Easonsmith He married Honor Gertrude Marsh and together they had a daughter.

Military career

On the outbreak of the World War II in September 1939 Easonsmith joined the 4th Battalion

Gloucestershire Regiment The Gloucestershire Regiment, commonly referred to as the Glosters, was a line infantry regiment of the British Army from 1881 until 1994. It traced its origins to Colonel Gibson's Regiment of Foot, which was raised in 1694 and later became the ...

, a Territorial Army unit, that subsequently was converted to the 66th Search Light Regiment

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

. By August 1940 he had been promoted to the rank of

sergeant Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...

and recommended for a commission, at the same time transferring to the

Royal Tank Regiment The Royal Tank Regiment (RTR) is the oldest tank unit in the world, being formed by the British Army in 1916 during the First World War. Today, it is the armoured regiment of the British Army's 12th Armoured Infantry Brigade. Formerly known as th ...

. Having completed his officer training he received a commission as a

subaltern Subaltern may refer to: *Subaltern (postcolonialism), colonial populations who are outside the hierarchy of power * Subaltern (military), a primarily British and Commonwealth military term for a junior officer * Subalternation, going from a univer ...

in July 1940, and was posted to

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

to take part in the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...

's North Africa Campaign in December 1940. In March 1941 he applied for a transfer into the behind-enemy-lines reconnaissance unit the

Long Range Desert Group )Gross, O'Carroll and Chiarvetto 2009, p.20 , patron = , motto = ''Non Vi Sed Arte'' (Latin: ''Not by Strength, but by Guile'') (unofficial) , colours = , colours_label ...

.''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' 15 January 1944: Obituary, John Richard Easonsmith In August he was promoted to the rank of captain. He took part in the L.R.D.G.'s New Zealander 'R1' Patrol's mission to pick up a detachment of the

Special Air Service The Special Air Service (SAS) is a special forces unit of the British Army. It was founded as a regiment in 1941 by David Stirling and in 1950, it was reconstituted as a corps. The unit specialises in a number of roles including counter-terro ...

Regiment after that regiment's failed "Operation Squatter" raid against

Axis An axis (plural ''axes'') is an imaginary line around which an object rotates or is symmetrical. Axis may also refer to: Mathematics * Axis of rotation: see rotation around a fixed axis *Axis (mathematics), a designator for a Cartesian-coordinate ...

desert airfields in November 1941. In December 1941 he was awarded the

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 ...

for gallantry in action. Easonsmith led the Barce Raid. He was promoted to the rank of Major in October 1942, and in November 1942 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 ...

. In October 1943 he was promoted to

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

, and was appointed as the Commanding Officer of the Long Range Desert Group, as the unit left the North Africa theatre, and embarked upon the Dodecanese Campaign, landing on the island of

Death

Easonsmith was killed in action at the age of 34 on 15 November 1943 during the

Battle of Leros The Battle of Leros was the central event of the Dodecanese campaign of the Second World War, and is widely used as an alternate name for the whole campaign. After the Armistice of Cassibile the Italian garrison on the Greek island Leros was str ...

, when he was shot by a German sniper whilst carrying out a lone reconnaissance of a village. His body was buried in Leros War Cemetery, the gravestone bearing the inscription dedication drawn from

Rupert Brooke Rupert Chawner Brooke (3 August 1887 – 23 April 1915)The date of Brooke's death and burial under the Julian calendar that applied in Greece at the time was 10 April. The Julian calendar was 13 days behind the Gregorian calendar. was an En ...

's poem " The Soldier": "Some corner of a foreign field that is for ever England".CWGC record for ''Lt-Col J.R.Easonsmith DSO MC''
/ref>

Notes

References

*Molinari, Andrea, ''Desert Raiders: Axis and Allied Special Forces 1940–43'' (Botley, UK: Osprey Publishing, 2007) *Lloyd Owen, David, ''Providence Their Guide: The Long Range Desert Group 1940–45'' (London: George G. Harrap & Co. Ltd, 1980) *Kennedy Shaw, W. B., ''Long Range Desert Group'' (London: Greenhill Books, 1989) {{DEFAULTSORT:Easonsmith, John Richard People educated at Clifton College People educated at Mill Hill School 1909 births 1943 deaths British Army personnel killed in World War II Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Military personnel from Bristol Recipients of the Military Cross Royal Tank Regiment officers Royal Artillery soldiers Long Range Desert Group personnel