Nevill Maskelyne Smyth
| Sir Nevill Maskelyne Smyth | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Nickname(s) | The Sphinx |
| Born |
14 August 1868 Westminster, London |
| Died | 21 July 1941 (aged 72) Balmoral, Victoria |
| Buried | Balmoral Cemetery |
| Allegiance |
 United Kingdom
|
| Service/branch | British Army |
| Years of service | 1888–1924 |
| Rank | Major General |
| Unit |
2nd Dragoon Guards (Queen's Bays) Carabiniers (6th Dragoon Guards) |
| Commands held |
47th (1/2nd London) Division (1919–24) 59th (2nd North Midland) Division (1918) 58th (2/1st London) Division (1918) 2nd Australian Division (1916–18) 1st Australian Brigade (1915–16) Carabiniers (6th Dragoon Guards) (1909–13) |
| Battles/wars |
Mahdist War Second Boer War First World War |
| Awards |
Victoria Cross Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath Mentioned in Despatches (11) Croix de Guerre (Belgium) Légion d'honneur (France) Order of the Medjidie (Egypt) Order of Osmanieh (Egypt) |
| Other work | National Party of Australia politician |
Major General Sir Nevill Maskelyne Smyth VC, KCB (14 August 1868 – 21 July 1941) was a senior officer in the British Army and a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.
Born the son of Sir Warington Wilkinson Smyth, a noted geologist, his grandfather was Admiral William Henry Smyth. His father's sister Henrietta Grace Powell was Robert Baden-Powell's mother making Baden-Powell, the founder of the Scout Movement, Smyth's first cousin.
Smyth was educated at Westminster School and graduated from the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, in 1888. He was posted to the Queen's Bays (2nd Dragoon Guards) in India as a second lieutenant on 22 August 1888. In 1890 he was attached to the Royal Engineers to assist with a railway survey during the Zhob Valley expedition.
1896 saw him stationed in Cairo with his regiment, and he was promoted lieutenant on 26 April. For his services in the initial stages of the Mahdist War he was Mentioned in Despatches on 3 November 1896, and awarded the Order of the Medjidieh, Fourth Class in 1897.
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