Clement Leslie Smith

Clement Leslie Smith
Born	17 January 1878 Romsey, Hampshire
Died	14 December 1927 (aged 49) Alassio, Italy
Buried at	English Cemetery, Alassio
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	British Army
Rank	Brigadier General
Unit	Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry
Commands held	Imperial Camel Brigade
Battles/wars	Fourth Somaliland Expedition Second Boer War World War I
Awards	Victoria Cross Military Cross Order of the Nile (Egypt)

Brigadier General Clement Leslie Smith VC MC (17 January 1878 – 14 December 1927) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.

Details

Smith was 25 years old, and a lieutenant in the 2nd Battalion, Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry, British Army, attached to the 5th Somaliland Light Infantry during the Fourth Somaliland Expedition when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC.

On 10 January 1904 at the commencement of the fight at Jidballi, British Somaliland, Lieutenant Smith and a medical officer tried to rescue a hospital assistant who was wounded. The rapidity of the enemy's fire, however, made this impossible and the hospital assistant was killed. Lieutenant Smith then did all that was possible to bring out the medical officer, helping him to mount a horse and, when this was shot, a mule. This animal also was shot and the medical officer was killed, but the lieutenant stayed with him to the end, trying to keep off the enemy with his revolver.^[1]

During World War I he commanded the Imperial Camel Brigade based in Egypt.

The medal

His Victoria Cross is displayed at the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry Museum in Bodmin, Cornwall, England.

References

1. The London Gazette: no. 27683. p. 3636. 7 June 1904. Retrieved 2 April 2015.

• Monuments to Courage (David Harvey, 1999)
• The Register of the Victoria Cross (This England, 1997)

External links

• Clement Leslie Smith at Find a Grave