Orders, Decorations and Medals

Three: Captain R. C. C. Smart, Royal Navy, in command of Q-Ship ‘Saros’
British War and Victory Medals (Commr., R.N.); War Medal 1939-45, good very fine (3) £100-150

Robert Charles Cator Smart was born in September 1882 and joined the Royal Navy as a Midshipman on 15 June 1899. In September 1914, Brigadier General Sir George Aston, R.M.A. brought to notice the excellent services rendered by Lieut. Smart who acted as Senior Embarkation Officer and Beach Master on the occasion of the embarkation of the Marine Force at Ostend. From October 1914 to October 1915, he was second in command of the Armed Merchant Cruiser Laurentic, including service off East Africa. From November 1915 he was in command of the Q-Ship Saros, and was commended by the Admiralty for actions with enemy submarines on 30 October and 2 November 1916. On each occasion Saros drove away U-Boats which had opened fire, the latter action being with U-21 which missed with a torpedo. On 19 March 1917, Saros and another U-Boat exchanged fire during which Saros was holed but managed to make it safely back to Malta. On 16 August 1917, off San Remo, Italy, the Austrian submarine U-28 torpedoed and sank Saros, the entire crew being rescued by a French trawler. Smart was subsequently second in command of H.M.S. Challenger form November 1917 to May 1919, in East Africa. He was promoted Captain in 1927, having retired in 1922, and returned to active duty on shore during WWII. Sold with extracts from various books concerning his Q-Ship adventures and a copy of his service record. Also entitled to the 1914-15 Star.