Forgotten Warrior - The Life and Times of Major-General Merton Beckwith-Smith 1890-1942 (Hardcover)

Major General Merton Beckwith-Smith, DSO, MC, Commander of the 18th Division, was the most senior British officer to die as a prisoner of war in the Far East during the Second World War. Yet he is one of the most neglected figures in the history of the British Army. On 4 October 1914, as a young officer of the Coldstream Guards, Beckwith-Smith was wounded while leading one of the first British trench raids of the First World War - a daring night attack against a German position known as 'Fish Hook Trench', for which he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order. He later earned the Military Cross as a staff officer in the Guards Division. During the inter-war years, Beckwith-Smith rose swiftly through the ranks, commanding the Welsh Guards before serving in India as commander of the Lahore Brigade. Recalled to Britain before the outbreak of war, he commanded the 1st Guards Brigade with distinction during the retreat to Dunkirk and was one of the last allied soldiers to be evacuated. On his return to England, Beckwith-Smith was appointed Commander of the 18th Division, a territorial division which he trained with great thoroughness before it went overseas. Ostensibly it was bound for the Middle East, but in October 1941 it was diverted to India, and then to Malaya. Following the outbreak of war with Japan, the 18th Division was controversially sacrificed in the hopeless defence of Singapore. Amidst great adversity, Beckwith-Smith showed inspiring leadership in the prison camp at Changi on Singapore Island, an example that was deeply and widely admired among the men of 18th Division. In August 1942 he was exiled to Formosa, present day Taiwan, where he died of disease at Karenko Camp on 11 November that year. For reasons examined in this book, Beckwith-Smith remains a strangely forgotten warrior. Using exclusive access to family archives, Michael Snape tells the story of a man who was remarkable for his personal charm, heroism, and extraordinary leadership - all of which was rooted in his unwavering Christian faith.