Kenneth Smith

Signalman Kenneth Smith GC (7 December 1920 – 10 January 1945) was a British Soldier of the Royal Corps of Signals, who was posthumously awarded the George Cross for the bravery he showed on the night of 10 January 1945 on the island of Ist in the Adriatic when attached to the Long Range Desert Group.

Biography Smith was born in Market Rasen, Lincolnshire on 7 December 1920, He joined the Royal Signals, British Army on 23 January 1939 and served in the Second World War.

Memorials and medal Smith is now buried in the Belgrade War Cemetery. His medals were presented to his mother as she was his next of kin. She in turned passed the GC to her second son, and campaign medals to her third son, Michael.

The George Cross appears to have been sold only a few months later. Michael was just three at the time of his father's death, so never knew his older brother. His interest was reawakened when he discovered that the local council on Ist was planning to erect a memorial.

Michael and other family members subsequently visited Ist in 1988 where they met some of Smith's friends, and a local woman who had been in the house on the night of his death. They visited the site of his first grave, and later visited the cemetery in Belgrade where his body was later moved.

Michael and his son, Jamie, then tried to track down the George Cross; they eventually discovered that it was in the hands of the medal and coin dealers, Spink, and was shortly to be offered for auction. The medal was also being sought by the trustees of the Royal Signals Museum in Blandford, who purchased the medal at auction, Michael was also present when the medal was transferred to them.