Staff Sergeant Staff sergeant is a rank of non-commissioned officer used in the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. History of title In origin, certain senior sergeants were assigned to administrative, supe ...

Olaf Sean George Schmid, GC (11 June 1979 – 31 October 2009) 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 Gur ...

bomb disposal expert ( Ammunition Technician) who was killed in action in the Afghanistan conflict. Schmid was posthumously awarded the

George Cross The George Cross (GC) is the highest award bestowed by the British government for non-operational gallantry or gallantry not in the presence of an enemy. In the British honours system, the George Cross, since its introduction in 1940, has be ...

after he made safe 70 devices before his death in October 2009. The citation was presented to Schmid's widow, Christina Schmid, by the Chief of the Defence Staff Sir Jock Stirrup on 18 March 2010 in a ceremony in the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...

. The announcement of the award of the GC to Staff Sergeant

Kim Hughes Kimberley John Hughes (born 26 January 1954) is a former cricketer who played for Western Australia, Natal and Australia. He captained Australia in 28 Test matches between 1979 and 1984 before captaining a rebel Australian team in a tour o ...

was made at the same time.

Early life

Schmid was born on 11 June 1979 in

Truro Truro (; kw, Truru) is a cathedral city and civil parish in Cornwall, England. It is Cornwall's county town, sole city and centre for administration, leisure and retail trading. Its population was 18,766 in the 2011 census. People of Truro c ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlan ...

, to a German mother, Barbara, and a Swedish father, Hans-Jörg Schmid, he was brother to Torben and half brother to Gregory. This obituary states his father was Swiss rather than Swedish/ He was educated at

Penair School Penair School is a secondary academy school in Truro, Cornwall, England, for children aged 11 to 16. It is named after Penair House, a mansion built in the late 18th century by Rear-Admiral Robert Carthew Reynolds. It is currently graded as � ...

in Truro, and was a choir boy in

Truro Cathedral Choir The Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a Church of England cathedral in the city of Truro, Cornwall. It was built between 1880 and 1910 to a Gothic Revival design by John Loughborough Pearson on the site of the parish church of St Mary. It i ...

, ultimately becoming head chorister. Schmid lived in Winchester,

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

, with his wife Christina and his step-son Laird.

Army career

Schmid joined the British Army in 1996, enlisting in the

Royal Logistic Corps The Royal Logistic Corps provides logistic support functions to the British Army. It is the largest Corps in the Army. History The Royal Logistic Corps (RLC) was formed on 5 April 1993, by the union of five British Army corps: * Royal Engin ...

and shortly afterwards he applied to train as a bomb disposal specialist. He served in Northern Ireland, Yugoslavia and Kosovo before being sent to Afghanistan in June 2009. He arrived during Operation Panther's Claw in Helmand Province. On 31 October 2009 Schmid was defusing a device in Sangin, Helmand Province when the device exploded, killing Schmid instantly.

Death and legacy

After Schmid's death was announced several people left tributes to his courage. Schmid's commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Robert Thomson, commanding 2nd Rifles Battle Group, said: "Staff-Sergeant Oz Schmid was simply the bravest and most courageous man I have ever met. Under relentless IED and small arms attacks he stood taller than the tallest." A funeral and memorial service was held at

Truro Cathedral The Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a Church of England cathedral in the city of Truro, Cornwall. It was built between 1880 and 1910 to a Gothic Revival design by John Loughborough Pearson on the site of the parish church of St Mary. It i ...

on 24 November 2009. On 21 September 2010, his widow, Christina Schmid, was a contributor in a programme in

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of Talk radio, spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history fro ...

's ''

Soul Music Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in the African American community throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. It has its roots in African-American gospel music and rhythm and blues. Soul music became pop ...

'' series about

Gabriel Fauré Gabriel Urbain Fauré (; 12 May 1845 – 4 November 1924) was a French composer, organist, pianist and teacher. He was one of the foremost French composers of his generation, and his musical style influenced many 20th-century composers ...

's ''Requiem'' with conductor

David Willcocks Sir David Valentine Willcocks, (30 December 1919 – 17 September 2015) was a British choral conductor, organist, composer and music administrator. He was particularly well known for his association with the Choir of King's College, Cambridge ...

. The ''Requiem'' was performed at the memorial service for Schmid.

George Cross

On 18 March 2010, Sir Jock Stirrup, the Chief of the Defence Staff announced that Schmid would be posthumously awarded the George Cross, and presented a framed copy of the citation to Schmid's widow during a ceremony at the headquarters of the

Honourable Artillery Company The Honourable Artillery Company (HAC) is a reserve regiment in the British Army. Incorporated by royal charter in 1537 by King Henry VIII, it is the oldest regiment in the British Army and is considered the second-oldest military unit in the w ...

in the City of London. The award was

gazetted A gazette is an official journal, a newspaper of record, or simply a newspaper. In English and French speaking countries, newspaper publishers have applied the name ''Gazette'' since the 17th century; today, numerous weekly and daily newspaper ...

on 19 March 2010. Schmid's widow, Christina, was presented with the medal in a private ceremony at Buckingham Palace on 2 June 2010. She attended the ceremony with her son Laird and her parents.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schmid, Olaf 1979 births 2009 deaths British recipients of the George Cross British Army personnel of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) British military personnel killed in the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) People from Truro Royal Logistic Corps soldiers English people of German descent English people of Swedish descent Bomb disposal personnel