| Quentin George Murray Smythe, VC | |
| Birth Date: | 1916 8, df=yes |
| Birth Place: | Nottingham Road, Natal, Union of South Africa[1] |
| Death Place: | Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa |
| Allegiance: | South Africa |
| Branch: | South African Army |
| Rank: | Captain |
| Unit: | Royal Natal Carabineers |
| Battles: | World War II |
| Awards: | Victoria Cross |
Quentin George Murray Smythe (6 August 1916 – 22 October 1997[1]) was a South African 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.
Smythe was born on 6 August 1916, the grandson of the penultimate Prime Minister of Natal, Charles Smythe and was educated at Weston Agricultural College and Estcourt High School.[2]
During the Second World War, he served with the 1st Battalion Royal Natal Carabineers[3] 1st SA Infantry Division, South African Forces in the East Africa Campaign against the Italians before moving to the Western Desert.
He was 25 years old, and a sergeant when the South African Forces were attacked near Alem Hamza in Libya. During the attack, Smythe realised that there was no officer to command his platoon and took charge himself. Although he had a wound in his forehead, causing much loss of blood, he managed single-handedly to obliterate a machine gun post, taking all the surviving crew prisoner. Then, again single-handedly and armed only with rifle and bayonet, he promptly did the same with an enemy anti-tank gun crew, after which he consolidated the position. However, because of the deterioration of the situation elsewhere, he found himself ordered to withdraw.[4]
He was awarded the Victoria Cross for his bravery, the citation was gazetted on 11 September 1942:
He married Dale Griffiths, in 1945 (dissolved 1970); they had three sons and one daughter. He married Margaret Joan Shatwell in 1970; she died in 1980. He married his third wife, Patricia Stamper, in 1984.[4]
He later achieved the rank of captain and after the war served with the South African Ministry of Defence. On leaving the Department of Defence, he returned to farming in the Richmond area of Natal. He was an outstanding marksman, a passionate conservationist and animal lover.
He died from cancer in Parklands Hospital Durban, South Africa in October 1997.[5]
Auctioned in UK 1998, the medal is now part of the Lord Ashcroft Collection at the Imperial War Museum in London.[1] [6]