Brigadier Des Smith
Royal Canadian Dragoons
4th & 5th Armoured Brigades

As you all know, the majority of my soldering during this war has been spent with armour and when my appointment came through to comd 5 Cdn Armd Bde it was the happiest thing that had happened to me during this war … it has been my good fortune to be with the Bde when it went into action for the first time as a Bde. That first action, which has just been completed, is one of the finest battles that Cdn tps have fought in this war.

(J.D.B. Smith to 5th Armd Bde, 4 Jun 1944)

Born in Ottawa on 2 October 1911, James Desmond Blaise Smith, graduated from RMC in 1933 and took a commission with the Royal Canadian Dragoons. He served as a staff officer with 1st Canadian Division in 1940 and brigade major of 2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade from May 1941 to February 1942, when he succeeded Lieutenant-Colonel W.E. Gillespie as commanding officer of the 1st Canadian Armoured Car Regiment (RCD).

According to Major J.A. Roberts, who would go on to command 8th Infantry Brigade in Northwest Europe, “Under Lieut-Colonel Smith’s leadership we settled into a vigorous and serious program of training in preparation for a regimental state of readiness for battle.” After four months, Smith was assigned to 5th Armoured Division as general staff officer.

A year later, in May 1943, he was promoted to brigadier of 4th Armoured Brigade, succeeding E..L.M. Burns. In February 1944, he arrived in the Italian theatre to take over from Brigadier G.R. Bradbrooke of 5th Armoured Brigade. A month later, Major-General Bert Hoffmeister took over 5th Armoured Division, and despite his own combat experience fighting in Sicily and Italy, told Smith, “Des, I know bugger all about armour and I’m going to depend on you.”

After the brigade’s first action at Melfa River in May 1944, Smith wrote to Lieutenant-Colonel Pat Griffin, commanding officer of the Lord Strathcona’s Horse:

The battle has cost us the lives of some very fine and gallant officers and me. I join with the Regiment in deepest sympathy of those, our fallen comrades. Their undying valour will long live in our memories. Our wounded and our fit will still carry on until the day of final Victoria, making history as they go.

In early June, however, General E.L.M. Burns of 5th Division appointed Smith to the general staff of I Canadian Corps headquarters. Smith stated in his farewell to the brigade: “It is difficult to leave the Bde at this time but changes are inevitable and must be accept. I leave the Bde with the knowledge that nowhere in the Canadian or Allied Armies will be found a family of individuals such as the 5 Cdn Armd Bde Family.”

Later in Northwest Europe, he served as temporary commander of 1st Canadian Division in November 1944 before taking over 1st Infantry Brigade until the end of the war in Europe. He left after VE-Day to join the Pacific Force but the war against Japan ended in August 1945. Smith then became commandant of RMC until 1946 and ended his military career as major general.

He retired from the army in 1961 and moved to London, England, where he died on 11 October 1991.