Leicester Smyth

The Honourable

Sir Leicester Smyth
Birth nameHon. Leicester Curzon-Howe
Born25 October 1829
Norton Juxta Twycross, Leicester, England
Died27 January 1891 (aged 61)
London, United Kingdom
Buried
Gopsall, Leicestershire
AllegianceUnited Kingdom United Kingdom
Service / branch British Army
RankLieutenant-General
CommandsWestern District
Cape Colony
Southern District
Battles / warsCrimean War
AwardsKnight Commander of the Order of the Bath
Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George
Spouse(s)Alicia Maria Eliza Smyth

Lieutenant General Hon. Sir Leicester Smyth KCB KCMG (born Curzon-Howe; 25 October 1829 – 27 January 1891) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator who served as the Governor of Gibraltar.

Early life and education

Smyth was the seventh son of Richard Curzon-Howe, 1st Earl Howe and Lady Harriet Georgiana Brudenell, daughter of Robert Brudenell, 6th Earl of Cardigan. He was educated at Eton College.[1]

Military career

Smyth was commissioned into the Rifle Brigade in 1845. He served in the Basuto War in 1852.[1]

In 1854 he was appointed aide-de-camp to Lord Raglan and was present at the Battle of Alma, the Battle of Inkerman and the Siege of Sevastopol.[1] He subsequently served as ADC to General Codrington.[1]

He was made Assistant Military Secretary in the Ionian Islands in 1856, Military Secretary in Ireland in 1865 and Deputy Quartermaster in Ireland in 1872.[1]

In 1877 he became General Officer Commanding Western District and in 1880 GOC Cape Colony.[1] He was acting High Commissioner for Southern Africa from 1882 to 1883, GOC Southern District from 1889 to 1890 (in which capacity he hosted a visit by the Shah of Persia[2]) and Governor of Gibraltar from 1890 until his death in 1891, aged 61.[1] During the Second Boer War, in February 1900, it was claimed that in 1884 Smyth refused a request from Colonel Luard, who was commanding the Royal Engineers, to map the Drakensberg passes. The lack of adequate maps severely hampered British efforts during the war.[3]

Family

On 12 February 1866 in Dublin, he married Alicia Maria Eliza Smyth, daughter and heiress of Robert Smyth of Drumcree, County Westmeath. In November that year, he adopted his wife's maiden name in lieu of his own, and quartered the Smyth arms with the arms of Curzon-Howe.[4] They had no children.[1][5]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h "Leicester Smyth". www.oxforddnb.com. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
  2. ^ Rambling Recollections By Henry Drummond Wolff Page 364 BiblioBazaar, 2009, ISBN 978-1-117-69655-3
  3. ^ "Summary of News". The Manchester Guardian. 8 February 1900. p. 7.
  4. ^ Walford, Edward (1893). The County Families of the United Kingdom Or Royal Manual of the Titled and Untitled Aristocracy of Great Britain and Ireland. p. 937. Retrieved 25 May 2019.
  5. ^ Fox-Davies, Arthur Charles (1895). Armorial Families: A Complete Peerage, Baronetage, and Knightage, and a Directory of Some Gentlemen of Coat-armour, and Being the First Attempt to Show which Arms in Use at the Moment are Borne by Legal Authority. Jack. p. 911. Retrieved 25 May 2019.
Military offices
Preceded by GOC Western District
1877–1880 		Succeeded by
Preceded by GOC Southern District
1889–1890 		Succeeded by
Government offices
Preceded by Governor of Gibraltar
1890–1891 		Succeeded by