The fascinating Great War Boy sailor, Palestine Arab Revolt, Second World War Battle of the Atlantic, Mediterranean, North West Europe, Royal Navy Long Service and Good Conduct Medal group awarded to Boy 2nd Class, later Able Seaman D. Smith, Royal Navy who first saw service as a 16yo during the Great War and would go on to receive his Long Service and Good Conduct Medal whilst serving aboard HMS Guardian in February 1936. He would then go on to see service in the operations off the coast of Palestine during the Arab Revolt, as well as being aboard HMS Devonshire when the Republicans surrendered the Island of Menorca during the Spanish Civil War. He would see numerous actions during the Second World War including being aboard HMS Norfolk when she was struck by a bomb in a German air attack on 16th March 1940, and would later serve aboard HMS Beagle on the Arctic Convoys, most notably including PQ14 to Murmansk in April 1942, and also in Operation Torch, the allied landings in North Africa. He would finish the war serving with Naval Party 1745 in Germany and would be discharged in November 1945.
Group of 9: British War Medal; (J.91697 D. SMITH. BOY.2. R.N.) Naval General Service Medal 1915-1962, GVIR 1st type bust; 1 Clasp: Palestine 1936-39: (J.91697 D. SMITH. A.B. R.N.) 1939-1945 Star; Atlantic Star, bar France and Germany; Africa Star, bar North Africa 1942-43, Italy Star; Defence Medal; War Medal; Royal Navy Long Service and Good Conduct Medal., GVR coinage bust; (J.91697 D. SMITH. A.B. H.M.S. GUARDIAN.)
Condition: heavy edge-bruising at 5 o’clock and 7 o’clock, Good Very Fine
David Smith was born in Edinburgh on 19th November 1902, and first joined the Royal Navy as a Boy 2nd Class with HMS Ganges on 11th July 1918, before being advanced to Boy 1st Class on 31st January 1919. He would subsequently serve with Warspite from 19th March 1919, being advanced Ordinary Seaman on 19th November 1920 and then Able Seaman on 24th September 1921. He would transfer to Vivid on 9th January 1922 until he transferred to Birmingham on 9th January 1923, Southampton on 1st March 1923. He would then serve aboard Chatham from 15th July 1924 to 11th November 1925, Vivid I from 12th November 1925 to 2nd January 1926, Impregnable attached King George V from 5th January 1926 to 19th July 1926, Thunderer attached King George V from 20th July 1926 to 31st August 1926, Erebus attached King George V from 1st September 1926 to 1st December 1926, Vivid from 2nd December 1926 to 5th January 2927, Pembroke attached Seraph from 6th January 1927 to 7th February 1927, Tamar II attached Seraph from 8th February 1927 until 30th September 1929. Cambrian from 1st October 1929 to 9th December 1929, Vivid I from 10th December 1929 to 31st January 1930, Pegasus attached Erebus from 1st February to 11th February 1930, Carysfort attached Erebus from 12th February 1930 to 19th April 1931, Comus attached Erebus from 20th April 1931 to 1st May 1931, Vivid from 2nd May 1931 to 13th October 1931, Devonshire from 14th October 1931 to 1st February 1934, Drake from 2nd February 1934 to 16th March 1934, Caledon attached Broke 17th March 1934 to 10th January 1935. Guardian from 11th January 1935 to 31st March 1936 and would be awarded his Long Service and Good Conduct Medal whilst aboard.
Subsequently he would serve aboard Drake from 1st April 1936 to 10th November 1936, then Drake attached Hasty from 11th November 1936 to 31st December 1936. St. Angelo attached Hasty from 1st January 1937 to 4th April 1938. Drake from 5th April 1938 to 6th January 1939. Devonshire from 7th January 1939 to 9th May 1939 including on 7th February 1939 during the Spanish Civil War where a nationalist emissary was taken to Menorca, the following day the Republicans surrendered the island to the nationalists aboard the cruiser and sailed to Marseille, France with 452 Republican refugees on board. Norfolk from 10th May 1939 until 25th April 1940.
At the outbreak of war in 1939, Norfolk was part of the 8th Cruiser Squadron of the Home Fleet. In November she was part of the Northern Patrol guarding Denmark Strait against German blockade runners and raiders. On 23 November the German battleships Gneisenau and Scharnhorst attacked the Northern Patrol between Iceland and the Faroe Islands and sank the armed merchant cruiser HMS Rawalpindi. Norfolk was involved in the chase for the two German battleships, but Scharnhorst and Gneisenau retreated at high speed and managed to return to Germany in bad weather. In anticipation of a British reaction on the sortie of the two battleships, the Oberkommando der Marine (OKM) had organised a submarine trap East of the Shetland isles. In very bad weather, Norfolk was sighted on 28 November by U-35 which signalled a contact report and alerted the nearby U-47 under the command of the famous Günther Prien. Due to the bad weather, Prien managed only to launch one torpedo which missed, but Prien reported one hit, while German propaganda claimed the cruiser sunk.
In order to counter a supposed Allied invasion of Norway, the Germans executed a raid on 16 March 1940 with eighteen Junkers Ju 88 of Kampfgeschwader 30 and sixteen Heinkel He 111 of Kampfgeschwader 26 at the naval base of Scapa Flow. Norfolk received a bomb hit on the quarterdeck which blew a hole in the hull and flooded the aft shell magazines. She went into repairs for three month
Smith would then serve with Drake from 26th April 1940 to 15th August 1940. Lynx attached Beagle from 16th August 1940 to 30th September 1940. Drake attached Beagle from 1st October 1940 to 31st May 1941. Hecla from 1st June 1941 to 30th June 1941. Orlando from 1st July 1941. Smith is then listed as serving aboard HMS Beagle from 1st July 1941 to 24th February 1943,
Beagle was transferred to the 22nd Destroyer Flotilla upon their completion where she served in the English Channel. She was transferred to Home Fleet for escort duties in October and promptly escorted Argus as she ferried aircraft to Iceland and then escorted a convoy to West Africa. On 4 November Beagle rescued 230 survivors from the sinking of the armed merchant cruiser HMS Patroclus.
With Lt.Cdr. Richard Taylor White taking command in February 1941 Beagle was assigned to Western Approaches Command and its 4th Escort Group for convoy escort duties between the Clyde and Iceland. While under repair for weather damage that broke her foremast in October, a Type 271 target indication radar was installed above the bridge that replaced her director-control tower and rangefinder. After the ship was more extensively damaged by weather two months later, Beagle was converted into an escort destroyer, a process that lasted until April 1942. At some point later in the war, a Type 286 short-range surface search radar was fitted.
Now commanded by Cdr. Ralph Cyril Medley, Beagle was assigned as an escort for Convoy PQ 14 to the Soviet port of Murmansk in April and escorted Convoy QP 11 on the return trip. The convoy was attacked by three German destroyers on 1 May, but the four escorting destroyers drove off the German ships despite being seriously outgunned. Beagle was lightly damaged by splinters in the engagement. Upon her return, the ship was assigned to the Greenock Escort Force and escorted convoys between the Clyde and Iceland until October when she was transferred to Force H. She participated in Operation Torch in November, before returning to escort Convoys JW 51A, RA 51, and JW 52 to and from Russia beginning in December.
HMS Drake from 26th February 1943 to 18th June 1943, HMS Brontosaurus from 19th June 1943 to 13th March 1944, this was the combined training centre for amphibious assaults based at Castle Toward, Argyll, Scotland.
He would return to HMS Drake from 14th March 1944 to 29th April 1944, HMS Avon Vale from 30th April 1944 to 13th January 1945, HMS Drake from 14th January to 30th January 1945, HMS Dartmouth from 31st January 1945 until 3rd April 1945, HMS Drake from 4th April to 9th April 1945, HMS Collingwood from 10th April 1945 to 13th April 1945, HMS Drake on 14-15th April 1945. Naval Party 1745 from 16th April 1945 to 13th August 1945 which was present at Emden, Germany after the conclusion of the Second World War, and finally HMS Drake where he was released to shore on 14th November 1945.
