Tom Smith

Tom was a very private person and rarely talked about himself. Self deprecating, enigmatic and never boastful, few people learnt about his World War II exploits. At the age of eighteen Tom enlisted into the army and after a very short period asked for a transfer to a more active role. He joined the SOE and was trained in Egypt, before being parachuted as a radio operator into Yugoslavia to help Tito’s Yugoslav Partisans. It was extremely dangerous, particularly because the Germans did not recognise the radio operators as military personnel: if caught they were shot on sight as spies, even though they were dressed in uniform. Several of Tom’s colleagues died this way. He once mentioned that life was very difficult and the only period of relief was when some American soldiers accompanied them and the US air force dropped regular rations to them. One incident that Tom captured in a photo was a shake of hands between a British officer and his German counterpart when an unofficial exchange of German prisoners and Yugoslav partisans was agreed. This is the only known photo to capture this type of agreement and is now in the Imperial War Museum, where Tom’s experiences were recorded on tape. When the Germans were being flushed out of Southern Europe, Tom was relocated to Italy, where he and a British officer were parachuted close to the German retreating line in Milan with orders to catch Mussolini alive. They did find the dictator, but his fellow countrymen had already killed him. Tom claimed this was potentially the most dangerous experience he incurred because of all the militias in the area even though they were in a “safe house”. For his bravery Tom at 19 was awarded the Military Medal. In 1945 he was sent to India where he remained until the surrender of the Japanese without seeing any further action. After the war and back in Britain he trained to become a civil engineer and spent time both in Britain and then Natal, South Africa. In Britain he joined the CTC and Forty Plus CC and cycling became his great recreational passion. At his funeral, one of his adult grandchildren devoted her eulogy to explaining how cycling permeated so many members of the family and linked this to her grandfather’s enthusiasm. For a fellow cyclist it was extremely gratifying to hear.

David Forster a contemporary cycling friend recalls his advice regarding his longevity. His stock reply would always be “everything in moderation, everything in moderation”.

RIP