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Auction: 20001 - Orders, Decorations and Medals - conducted behind closed doors
Lot: 862

Four: Sergeant H. A. Smyrk, Royal Engineers, who lost his life in a tragic accident in Palestine

1914-15 Star (58017. Spr. H. A. Smyrk, R.E.); British War and Victory Medals (58017 A.Cpl. H. A. Smyrk. R.E.); Great War Bronze Memorial Plaque (Henry Alfred Smyrk), with the recipient's cap badge, very fine (4)

Henry Alfred Smyrk was born at 32 Henry Street, Pentonville on 29 January 1893, the son of Joseph and Jane Smyrk. His older brother was William Joseph Smyrk, the renowned technician of No. 60 Squadron, Royal Flying Corps. He attested for the Royal Engineers on 24 November 1914, arriving in France on 11 August 1915 as a Sapper with the 38th Signal Company. After the war he served in Palestine as a Sergeant with 'A.G.' Cable Section, arriving in that theatre on 16 April 1919. He was accidentally killed near Haifa on 21 May that year. A Court of Enquiry was convened at H.Q. Haifa Area on 25 June to examine the circumstances of his death. Several witnesses gave testimony. Private Williams, a driver in the Royal Army Service Corps, stated the following:

'To fetch Lt. Harvey and Lt. Yates to their billets, I left the Section billet in the car at 1700 hrs, and as Sgt. Smyrk wished to visit the Signal Office, he came with me. When about seventy yards from the junction of the Acre and Tiberias roads, where the road bends slightly to the left, I attempted to turn the steering wheel but found it jammed. I immediately applied the brakes but could not stop the car, which was running straight towards the side of the road into a deep rut… both Sgt. Smyrk and I were thrown out of the car.'

Having survived the Great War, Smyrk lost his life in a car accident, aged 26. He is buried in Haifa British Cemetery, Israel, with the epitaph 'Thy Work is Done' ; sold with the recipient's original bestowal documents for the 1914-15 Star and British War and Victory Medals, his condolence slip, birth certificate, and a file of research containing testimonies from the trial.

For the awards of the recipient's brother, see Lot 737.


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Sold for
£160

Starting price
£110