Edwin Thomas Martyn Smith (C 27) was born on 29th May 1913 at Walsall, Staffordshire. After Haileybury he went on to study for his MB (Bachelor of Medicine) and ChM (Master of Surgery) which he was awarded in 1939 from the Universtiy of Birmingham.
After war broke out, he joined the Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) where he served as a Captain. Captured at Tobruk in June 1941, he was later imprisoned in Italy where he was later to die following his escape from captivity.
Taken prisoner at Tobruk
His time in the army was brief. Moving to the Western Desert in 1940, Edwin was attached to the 68th Medium Regiment of the Royal Artillery when, following Tobruk, he was initially reported as missing before later confirmed as being a prisoner of war of the Italians in 1942.
After moving to a camp in Naples and then being transferred to Northern Italy, It appears he and a group of others were able to escape captivity in 1943.
Killed while escaping
It is unclear whether or not the escape was a consequence of being accidentally released following the Italian armistice or whether it was pre-planned. Nonetheless, he never achieved his objective of reaching the British lines; one report suggests his subsequent death was as a result from a fall from a cliff.
Edwin’s death was finally confirmed as occurring on 11th December, 1943 at the age of 30. His body is interred at the Sangro River War Cemetery, Torino di Sangro, Provincia di Chieti, Abruzzo, Italy; the grave reference 9.A.41
The Haileybury Society is grateful to Paul Hughes of Queen Mary’s Grammar School, Walsall, for much of the information and the photograph provided for this article.
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