Felix Powell

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Felix Powell (1878 - 10 February 1942) was a British Staff Sergeant most famous for writing the music for marching song "Pack Up Your Troubles in Your Old Kit Bag and Smile, Smile, Smile" in 1915. The words were written by his brother George Henry Powell under the pseudonym George Asaf and the song was entered into a World War I competition for "best morale-building song". It won first prize and was noted as "perhaps the most optimistic song ever written".^[1]

Despite this, Powell committed suicide in 1942. Wearing the uniform of the Peacehaven Home Guard he shot himself in the heart using his own rifle.^[1]