LEATHERHEAD WAR MEMORIALS - WWII
Lieutenant Ralph Brudenell St. George Smyth
28th Armoured Regiment
British Columbia Regiment, Royal Canadian Armoured Corps
Town Memorial World War II
| LIEUTENANT RALPH BRUDENELL St. GEORGE SMYTH British Columbia Regiment, R.C.A.C. 28th Armd. Regt. Died 11 October 1944 Age 32 years old Buried at SCHOONSELHOF CEMETERY III. L. 15. Belgium Country of Service Canadian (Served as SMYTH). Son of the Revd. Edward Adderly St. George Smyth and Catherine Winifred St. George Smyth; husband of Penelope Erlstoun St. George Smyth, of Leatherhead, Surrey, England. Personal Inscription O VALIANT HEART |
 Ralph's headstone in Schoonselhof Cemetery: photo on CVWM courtesy of Marg Liessens |
The Canadian documentation of his military service shows that he Attested on 20 June 1940 when he was living with his mother at 1448 Cedar Ave, Trail, British Columbia. His father was living in England. He had two years of High School education at Brentwood College, leaving in 1929 at the age of 17.
He went to work for the CM&S Company, involved in mining and smelting. He did 6 years as a Chemical Operator and was a Shift Boss before becoming an Accountant for 5 years.
His medical records state that he was 6 ft 2" tall with blue eyes and brown hair. His employer had promised to keep his job open for him but his ambition was to go into Politics. As a Sergeant, Regimental number K37832 with the British Columbia Regiment he disembarked in Britain on 1 September 1942.
Many Canadian units were stationed in Surrey - Young Street was built by the Canadians to avoid heavy/armoured vehicles having to go through Leatherhead. The Mansion in Leatherhead was one of many properties requisitioned by the Canadians. On part of Headley Heath they extensively modelled the type of defences likely to be encountered in the forthcoming invasion of Europe. Some lessons had been learned from the abortive raid on Dieppe, which had been so costly to the Canadians.
In 1943 he had been identified as officer material and did pre-Officer Cadet training. He attended an OCTU course at Sandhurst and became a Lieutenant on 26 February 1944.
His records show that on 27 March 1944 he was serving with 3 Canadian Armoured Corps Reinforcement Unit as an 'R/F Officer'.
Inevitably the Canadians and the local girls met up and many marriages resulted. One of them took place on 20 May 1944:
Surrey Advertiser
Saturday 27 May 1944
WEDDING OF MISS GRANGER
Wearing a gown of white lamé, with a train of ivory brocade and an ivory net veil (worn by her mother on her wedding day), Miss Penelope Erlstoun Granger, eldest daughter of Captain and Mrs. Herslet Granger, of The Grange, Leatherhead, was married to Lieut. Ralph B. St. George Smyth, only son of the late Rev. E. A. and Mrs. Smyth, of Kaslo, British Columbia, on Saturday at Leatherhead Parish Church. The bride, who was given away by her father, is a subaltern in the A.T.S. The best man was Lieut. J S. Wormald, B.C.R. The service was conducted by the Rev. Anthony Coleridge, of St. Michael’s, Exeter. Mr. F. H. Lockett was at the organ, and the choir led the singing. The church was decorated by friends of the bride, and wedding bells were rung after the service.
Wearing a gown of white lamé, with a train of ivory brocade and an ivory net veil (worn by her mother on her wedding day), Miss Penelope Erlstoun Granger, eldest daughter of Captain and Mrs. Herslet Granger, of The Grange, Leatherhead, was married to Lieut. Ralph B. St. George Smyth, only son of the late Rev. E. A. and Mrs. Smyth, of Kaslo, British Columbia, on Saturday at Leatherhead Parish Church. The bride, who was given away by her father, is a subaltern in the A.T.S. The best man was Lieut. J S. Wormald, B.C.R. The service was conducted by the Rev. Anthony Coleridge, of St. Michael’s, Exeter. Mr. F. H. Lockett was at the organ, and the choir led the singing. The church was decorated by friends of the bride, and wedding bells were rung after the service.
The Rev. Anthony Coleridge of St Michael's, Exeter, was the son of Rev. Gerard Hartley Buchanan Coleridge, Vicar of Leatherhead 1926-44.
Penelope became his next of kin in place of his mother, and on 2nd June 1944 he made out a Will making her his Executor and sole legatee.
On 20 August 1944 he was wounded in an ankle ('Frac Lt Int Malleolus').
The circumstances of his death on 11th October 1944 have not yet been traced but the medical reports are grim. He had suffered a gun shot (Rifle?) wound to the forehead above his right eye and had lost some brain tissue. He was admitted to a Field Ambulance unit at 12.30pm in a poor condition and died later that day.
He was buried at the Military Cemetery Antwerp in Grave 15, Row Q in the British Plot, later re-designated Grave 15, Row L, Plot 3. The Cemetery became known as the Schoonselhof.
Surrey Advertiser
Saturday 28 October 1944
LEATHERHEAD WIFE BEREAVED
News has been received by his wife that Lieut. Ralph St. George Smythe, Royal Canadian Armoured Corps, was killed in action in Holland this month. Mrs. St. George Smythe was Miss Penelope Erlstoun Granger, eldest daughter of Dr. and Mrs. E. H. Hertslet Granger, of The Grange, Leatherhead, and her marriage to Lieut. St. George Smythe took place last May. He is the only son of Mrs. St. George Smythe and the late Mr. St. George Smythe, of Kaslo, British Columbia. He joined H.M. Forces soon after the outbreak of war, and spent some time in this country before taking part in the invasion of North-West Europe. Mrs. St. George Smythe is a subaltern in the A.T.S., and her twin sisters are in the Services. Dr. Granger is also serving in H.M. Forces.
News has been received by his wife that Lieut. Ralph St. George Smythe, Royal Canadian Armoured Corps, was killed in action in Holland this month. Mrs. St. George Smythe was Miss Penelope Erlstoun Granger, eldest daughter of Dr. and Mrs. E. H. Hertslet Granger, of The Grange, Leatherhead, and her marriage to Lieut. St. George Smythe took place last May. He is the only son of Mrs. St. George Smythe and the late Mr. St. George Smythe, of Kaslo, British Columbia. He joined H.M. Forces soon after the outbreak of war, and spent some time in this country before taking part in the invasion of North-West Europe. Mrs. St. George Smythe is a subaltern in the A.T.S., and her twin sisters are in the Services. Dr. Granger is also serving in H.M. Forces.
February 1945
Christmas present to the Church: A
St George's Flag presented by Capt and Mrs Hertslet Granger and family
in memory of their son-in-law, Lieut. Ralph Brudenell St George Smyth,
who died of wounds in Holland on 11th October 1944.
In December 1944 the magazine had reported: the flag will fly from our Church Tower to mark the great Church festivals and national commemorations as they come round. We hope someday to be able to have a new St George's Flag, as our present one is old and torn. Perhaps someone may like to present us with one to celebrate peace when that day comes.
In December 1944 the magazine had reported: the flag will fly from our Church Tower to mark the great Church festivals and national commemorations as they come round. We hope someday to be able to have a new St George's Flag, as our present one is old and torn. Perhaps someone may like to present us with one to celebrate peace when that day comes.
His life
Ralph Smyth was born in Canada on 27 February 1912 in Trail, British Columbia. Ralph was the name of his paternal grandfather and one of his uncles.His father was the Revd. Edward Adderly St. George Smyth. His life, and time as a publican in Thornbury, Gloucestershire is detailed on the Thornbury Roots website. Here is an extract from the page about The Exchange which was located at what is now known as The Malthouse, 59 High Street, Thornbury:
In the early 1930s the pub was run by
Edward Adderley St George Smyth and May Ellen Smyth.
Edward Smyth[e] was born in St Leonards on Sea near Hastings on 9th February 1863, the son of Ralph St George Smyth and his wife Harriett née Cameron. In the 1871 Census Ralph was living in St Leonards Lane, Winchester. He was retired Lieutenant Colonel in the Royal Artillery. He was listed as married, but his wife was not at home at the time of the Census, although Edward and his four siblings were. The 1881 Census shows Edward at Sherborne School in Dorset aged 18.
We don’t where Edward was in the 1891 Census. He married Catherine Winifred Besley in Christ Church, London on 17th June 1899. Catherine was the daughter of Henry Thomas Besley.
Edward Smyth[e] was born in St Leonards on Sea near Hastings on 9th February 1863, the son of Ralph St George Smyth and his wife Harriett née Cameron. In the 1871 Census Ralph was living in St Leonards Lane, Winchester. He was retired Lieutenant Colonel in the Royal Artillery. He was listed as married, but his wife was not at home at the time of the Census, although Edward and his four siblings were. The 1881 Census shows Edward at Sherborne School in Dorset aged 18.
We don’t where Edward was in the 1891 Census. He married Catherine Winifred Besley in Christ Church, London on 17th June 1899. Catherine was the daughter of Henry Thomas Besley.
The rest of their life is a bit of a
mystery – he appears to have become a clergyman although we note that
his name as shown in Crockfords is Edward Augustus St George
Smyth. We know from a family tree posted on the Ancestry website
that Edward and Catherine had several children including a Ralph
Brudenell St George Smyth who was born in Trail in British Columbia,
Canada in 1912.
Crockfords shows that the clergyman
was the Vicar of Trail from 1906 to 1916 and then moved to Greenwood and
Rockwood in 1917 to 1929.
Ralph was killed in Belgium in 1944 and
the entry on the Commonwealth War Graves website shows that Ralph was
indeed the son of the Revd Edward Adderley St George Smyth.
His mother was Catherine Winifred Besley, born 5 January 1873, Barnstaple, Devon, the daughter of Henry Thomas Besley, a Banker's Clerk, and Lucy Jessie Horne
Edward and Catherine were married at Christ Church, City of London, on 17th June 1899
He had four sisters: Maie Cameron St George (1901), Wing (1904), Joan (1906) and Phi (1909). A brother, Keith, died in 1910.
The wedding of Ralph and Penelope Erlstoun Granger, of Leatherhead, Surrey, took place at Leatherhead Parish Church on Saturday 20th May 1944, as reported above.
Penelope Erlstoun Granger was born on 12 May 1918 and baptised on 1 September 1918 at Christ Church With St Mary-At-The-Walls, Colchester, Essex. She was the eldest daughter of Edward Harold Hertslet Granger, medical practitioner, and Penelope Stella Thomson Granger née Boothby, of The Grange, 7 Church Street, Leatherhead. Her father had won the Military Cross in WW1. She had a younger sister, Mary H Granger, born in 1920. As noted above Penelope was serving as a Subaltern in the A.T.S. when she married Ralph. Before the war she worked as a Clerk.
The earliest appearance of the Grangers in the Electoral Registers for Leatherhead found so far is 1933. Dr Granger was listed in the 1942 Medical Directory:
Granger, Edwd Harold Hertslet MC:
MD Cambridge 1927; MB1921; DPH 1920; MRCS Eng, LRCP London 1914
(Cambridge & University College Hospital); Hon Physician Victoria
Cottage Hospital, Leatherhead; Medical Officer Cripples Training
College, Leatherhead Court; Medical Officer Royal School for the Blind,
Leatherhead; late Clinical Asst Gt Ormond St Hospital for Sick Children;
House Surgeon & House Physician University College Hospital;
Residential Medical Officer Municipal Hospital Neasden.
After the war
In addition to his British and Canadian medals Ralph was posthumously awarded a Belgian Croix de Guerre in July 1948.His mother, who was living in Kaslo, British Columbia at the time of his death, died in Vancouver, British Columbia on 14 June 1956.
Penelope, his widow, continued living with her family at The Grange, 7 Church Street, Leatherhead until about 1955.
A Penelope E Smyth was in the Electoral Register at 28 Queen Anne Street, St Marylebone, London in 1956 and 1957.
Her mother died on 17 June 1959 and her father died in Leatherhead Hospital on 13 January 1964.
Her mother's Probate record named 'Penelope Erlstoun Benge, married woman' and in 1959 Penelope E Benge was in the Electoral Register at 60 High Street, Esher, Surrey with Leonard B Benge and members of his family.
She died on 27 June 1994 in Cobham, Surrey.
Ralph Smyth is remembered on these memorials
Leatherhead Town Memorial
Leatherhead RBL Roll of Honour, Leatherhead Parish Church
Trail Cenotaph, British Columbia
Canadian Virtual War Memorial
Canadian Book of Remembrance
the website editor would like to add further
information on this casualty
e.g. a photo of him and any recollections of him
last updated 28 Aug 20