Orders, Decorations and Medals

A ‘Palestine’ M.M. awarded to Private T. A. Smith, The Queen’s Regiment, for gallantry at Beit Lid in October 1939

Military Medal, G.VI.R., 1st issue (6088046 Pte. T. A. Smith, The Queen’s R.) suspension re-pinned, otherwise very fine and scarce £800-1000

M.M. London Gazette 22 December 1939, ‘for gallant and distinguished service in Palestine.’

The following details are taken from the Regimental History: ‘In mid-October the Battalion was concentrated preparatory to its month’s training. Two drafts of reservists had been received from England and the strength had risen to over 700 men. But before they moved out for training, two of the most important bandit leaders in the country with 70 to 100 men were reported in the village of Beit Lid, just off the Tulkarm-Nablus road. They were pinned there by air action until the troops could arrive and the whole battalion moved by MT as quickly as possible to the neighbourhood of the village. By 1530 the cordon round the village was complete and the RAF, whose information had been most helpful and accurate, were dispensed with. On closing in on the village the companies were fired on, but without casualties. Four rebels, including the well-known Said Salem Said, one of the most important rebel leaders in the country, were killed and some arms collected....’

Smith was the platoon commander’s runner in Palestine in a rifle platoon commanded by Lieutenant David Lloyd Owen (later Maj-General C.B., D.S.O., O.B.E., M.C., of Long Range Desert Group fame) who recalled the following in a signed letter which accompanies the M.M.: ‘I remember this action fairly well. I was commanding a platoon in ‘A’ Company and Smith was my runner. The cordon referred to round the village was probably about a mile away before it was complete and we started to move in on this fairly small Arab village. It stood on a rise with olive trees on the terraced hillside. The terraces were made of walls about three feet high and built of the natural stone. Suddenly we were fired on by two or three men who were outside the village and about 100 yards away from us. My platoon had to do something to sort things out so we ran to the next wall ahead and, using a covering party, got onto the following one. Tommy Smith was my runner and never left my side. We had got to about thirty or forty yards from the rebels and were taking cover behind the terrace wall when Tommy Smith got up, leapt over the wall and, firing from the hip, charged the rebels. We gave him some covering fire and then tore on after him but by this time the action was over and Tommy Smith’s personal initiative and courage had saved us from the possibility of becoming casualties as the Arab bandits were good snipers from cover. But when they realised that the opposition meant business they would crumble. Smith was a delightful, cheerful Cockney with a sense of humour and he feared no one. He could even pull the leg of the CSM and get away with it! He stayed with me (as you know from my book) until I lost him on patrol. I was fond of him as he was always so wonderfully cheerful and this did my morale a lot of good.’

On Christmas Day 1940, he accompanied Captain David Lloyd Owen now a company commander, on a night patrol at Bardia. Separated in the darkness, Smith was captured by the Italians, but escaped a few days later. The patrol, official enquiry into Smith’s capture and his subsequent escape are described in David Lloyd Owen’s The Desert My Dwelling Place, extracts from which are sold with the lot.