William James Lanyon Smith (1 December 1922 – 2 December 2018) was a New Zealand naval officer. He served in the

Royal New Zealand Naval Volunteer Reserve The Royal New Zealand Naval Volunteer Reserve (RNZNVR) is the volunteer reserve force of the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN). History Early history The first Naval Volunteer units were formed in Auckland and Nelson in 1858. Over the rest of th ...

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 ...

and was second-in-command of a

midget submarine A midget submarine (also called a mini submarine) is any submarine under 150 tons, typically operated by a crew of one or two but sometimes up to six or nine, with little or no on-board living accommodation. They normally work with mother ships, ...

during an attack in Singapore codenamed

Operation Struggle The XE-class submarines were a series of twelve midget submarines that were built for the Royal Navy during 1944; four more to a slightly different design were built 1954-5 as the ''Stickleback'' class. They were an improved version of the us ...

, for which he was appointed a

Companion of 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, ty ...

Early life

Smith was born in

Gore Gore may refer to: Places Australia * Gore, Queensland * Gore Creek (New South Wales) * Gore Island (Queensland) Canada * Gore, Nova Scotia, a rural community * Gore, Quebec, a township municipality * Gore Bay, Ontario, a township on Manitouli ...

, New Zealand, on 1 December 1922 and became a school teacher.

Second World War

During World War II, Smith was a member of the Royal New Zealand Naval Volunteer Reserve. In May 1944 he was posted to the Royal Navy's midget submarine base at

Port Bannatyne Port Bannatyne ( gd, Port MhicEamailinn) is a coastal village on the Isle of Bute, Firth of Clyde, Scotland that is home to many steamers. Port Bannatyne developed into the 1900s as a quieter and more unusual alternative to Rothesay. It is a pop ...

in Scotland and he became a temporary

sub-lieutenant Sub-lieutenant is usually a junior officer rank, used in armies, navies and air forces. In most armies, sub-lieutenant is the lowest officer rank. However, in Brazil, it is the highest non-commissioned rank, and in Spain, it is the second high ...

in September 1944. He served on the ‘X’ craft midget submarine depot ship HMS ''Bonaventure'' from December 1944 to April 1946. On 31 July 1945 in the

Straits of Johor The Johore Strait (also known as the Tebrau Strait, Straits of Johor, Selat Johor, Selat Tebrau, and Tebrau Reach) is an international strait in Southeast Asia, between Singapore and Peninsular Malaysia. Geography The strait separates the Ma ...

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

, Smith was second-in-command of an improved

X-boat The X Boat, also called the Cub, is an American sailing dinghy that was designed by John O. Johnson as a one-design racer and first built in 1932.Sherwood, Richard M.: ''A Field Guide to Sailboats of North America, Second Edition'', pages 72 ...

, HMS ''XE-3'', that attacked the Japanese

heavy cruiser The heavy cruiser was a type of cruiser, a naval warship designed for long range and high speed, armed generally with naval guns of roughly 203 mm (8 inches) in caliber, whose design parameters were dictated by the Washington Naval Tr ...

''Takao'', after making a long and hazardous journey through mined waters. He manned the

hydroplanes Hydroplaning and hydroplane may refer to: * Aquaplaning or hydroplaning, a loss of steering or braking due to water on the road * Hydroplane (boat), a fast motor boat used in racing ** Hydroplane racing, a sport involving racing hydroplanes on lak ...

throughout the 17½-hour mission. In command of the submarine was Lieutenant Ian Fraser; the two other members of the crew were Acting Leading Seaman James Magennis, the diver who attached the limpet mines to the ''Takao'', and Engine Room Artificer Third Class Charles Alfred Reed, who was at the wheel. Following the attack on the ''Takao'', Smith was appointed a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order. His citation, published in a supplement to the ''

London Gazette 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 ...

'' dated 13 November 1945, read: Reed received the

Conspicuous Gallantry Medal The Conspicuous Gallantry Medal (CGM) was, until 1993, a British military decoration for gallantry in action for petty officers and seamen of the Royal Navy, including Warrant Officers and other ranks of the Royal Marines. It was formerly awa ...

, while Magennis and Fraser were both awarded the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

. Smith was promoted to temporary lieutenant in December 1945.

Post-war naval career

In June 1946, Smith transferred to the

Royal New Zealand Navy The Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN; mi, Te Taua Moana o Aotearoa, , Sea Warriors of New Zealand) is the maritime arm of the New Zealand Defence Force. The fleet currently consists of nine ships. The Navy had its origins in the Naval Defence Act ...

with the rank of

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

. Between 1947 and 1953 he served successively on HMNZS ''Bellona'', HMNZS ''Hawea'' and HMNZS ''Lachlan''. In February 1953 he was posted to HMNZS ''Maori'' as her

executive officer An executive officer is a person who is principally responsible for leading all or part of an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization. In many militaries and police forces, an executive officer, o ...

, and in May that year was promoted to the rank of

lieutenant commander Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding rank i ...

. From November 1955 until 1957 he was stationed at the navy office in

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

(HMNZS ''Wakefield''), and then he served as commanding officer of HMNZS ''Shackleton''. In December 1959, Smith was promoted to the rank of

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

, and from February 1960 until October 1962 he served as commanding officer of HMNZS ''Lachlan'' and hydrographer of the Royal New Zealand Navy. Thereafter he was director of hydrography at HMNZS ''Wakefield''. In the 1968 Queen's Birthday Honours, Smith was 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 ...

. Smith died in Wellington on 2 December 2018.

Honorific eponym

The Royal New Zealand Navy's headquarters for its operational diving team, maritime operations evaluation team and diving school are housed in the Commander William Smith Building—named in Smith's honour and officially opened by him in 2006—at the

Devonport Naval Base Devonport Naval Base is the home of the Royal New Zealand Navy, located at Devonport, New Zealand on Auckland's North Shore. It is currently the only base of the navy that operates ships, and has been in use as a navy base since 1841. The b ...

in Auckland.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, William James Lanyon 1922 births 2018 deaths New Zealand Companions of the Distinguished Service Order New Zealand Officers of the Order of the British Empire People from Gore, New Zealand Royal New Zealand Navy personnel of World War II