Exceptional Naval and Polar Awards from the Collection of RC Witte

A rare Baltic 1919 operations O.B.E. group of four awarded to Paymaster Captain G. T. Smyth, Royal Navy, who had earlier served off Gallipoli and won a “mention” for his leadership of the coding staff aboard H.M.S. Calliope at Jutland

The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, O.B.E. (Military) Officer’s 1st type breast badge, silver-gilt, hallmarks for London 1919; 1914-15 Star (Asst. Payr. G. T. Smyth, R.N.); British War and Victory Medals, M.I.D. oak leaf (Pay. Lt. Cr. G. T. Smyth, R.N.), mounted as worn, good very fine and better (4) £600-800

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, Exceptional Naval and Polar Awards from the Collection of RC Witte.

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O.B.E. London Gazette 12 November 1920:

‘In recognition of valuable services rendered in the Baltic in 1919.’

Geoffrey Thomas Smyth was born in March 1885 and entered the Royal Navy as an Assistant Clerk in January 1903. Qualifying as a Paymaster in March 1906, he was serving as secretary and clerk to Rear-Admiral Sir Lewis Bayly in the battleship H.M.S. Marlborough on the outbreak of hostilities in August 1914.

Removing to the Admiral’s next flagship, the battleship Lord Nelson, that December, he saw action in the Dardanelles, where he was present at the bombardment of the inner forts and in support of the initial landings in early March 1915 - the forts engaged her heavily on 7 March and hit her several times. After swift repairs at Malta the Lord Nelson returned to take part in the main attack on the Narrows’ forts on 18 March, in the landings on 25-26 April, and in the bombardment of the Ottoman field batteries on 6 May, prior to the second battle of Krithia.

Joining Commodore Le Mesurier’s staff in the light cruiser Calliope in mid-May 1915, Smyth went on to witness further action, most notably at the battle of Jutland, when, as the flagship of the 4th Light Cruiser Squadron, his ship was heavily engaged throughout the battle. But it was not until the evening that she started to take her first casualties, the result of a duel with two Kaiser class battleships. The Fighting at Jutland takes up the story:

‘ ... only our speed and zigzagging saved us from annihilation. As it was, we seemed to be in the middle of splashes, and the noise of the bursting shell and flying fragments was absolutely deafening. We were hit five times in all, three of which did serious damage to personnel. One shell, bursting against the breech of the port after 4-inch gun, smashed the fittings and gun shield and killed practically all the gun’s crew, the notable exception being the sight-setter, a Corporal of Marines, who had the gun between him and the burst and only suffered a slight scalp wound.

The second hit on us burst near No. 3 4-inch gun under the bridge, disabled the gun, killing and wounding some of the crew, and fragments of this shell penetrated the deck of the lower bridge and wounded a signalman and a bugler.

The third shell penetrated the upper deck, and burst in the boys’ mess deck, almost in the middle of the after dressing station, killing some and wounding many others, including the Staff Surgeon.

For the last five minutes that we were under fire we were in sight of our own ships, although the two battle fleets were invisible to each other, and we were told afterwards that at times we were hidden in spray from the splashes. Altogether, we had 10 killed and 23 wounded, some seriously. We were ordered to take station on the port beam of the battle fleet for the night, and in the morning resumed our cruising station ahead during the search for disabled enemy ships.

On reaching Scapa afterwards, we were ordered in first, instead of waiting for the battle fleet to enter, to land our wounded. Our dead we buried at sea the morning after the action, the Commodore leaving the bridge for a few minutes to read the burial service, the one time he was ever known to leave the bridge at sea.’

Smyth was mentioned in despatches and noted for early promotion by the Commodore, who stated he was ‘in charge of coding staff during the action, and has been of great assistance to me in every way as my secretary’ (London Gazette 15 September 1916 refers).

Duly advanced to Lieutenant-Commander, Smyth remained actively employed in the Calliope until removing to the Dominion in October 1917 and thence, in February 1918, to a shore appointment. But he returned to sea as secretary to Commodore A. A. M. Duff in the Caledon in May 1919, when he was embarked for the Baltic, which chapter of active service resulted in the award of his O.B.E.

Smyth was placed on the Retired List as a Paymaster Captain in March 1935.