Gerald Bryce Ferguson Smyth
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Lieutenant-Colonel Gerald Bryce Ferguson Smyth, DSO and Bar, French and Belgian Croix de Guerre (1885 - 1920) was a British Army officer and police officer who was at the centre of a mutiny in the ranks of the Royal Irish Constabulary during the Irish War of Independence. He was assassinated by the Irish Republican Army in Cork in 1920.
Gerald Smyth was born on 7 September 1885 at Phoenix Lodge, Dalhousie, Punjab, India, the eldest son of George Smyth and Helen Ferguson Smyth. His father was the British High Commissioner in the Punjab and his mother was the daughter of Thomas Ferguson of Banbridge, County Down, Ireland [1]. Smyth had one brother, George Osbert Smyth, who also served as a British Army officer. Both served in the First World War and in Ireland during the War of Independence.
Gerald Smyth was commissioned into the Royal Engineers as a young man and volunteered at the outbreak of World War I even though he had been offered a position as Professor of Mathematics at Chatham. He was sent to France where he was seriously injured on a number of occasions, including the loss of his left arm.
In June 1920 Colonel Smyth was sent to Ireland where the War of Independence was raging. He arrived in Cork on that day and was seconded to the RIC of which he was appointed Divisional Commissioner for the province of Munster.
On 19 June 1920 Smyth made a speech to the ranks of the Listowel RIC in which was reported as having said, “Police and military will patrol the country roads at least five nights a week. They are not to confine themselves to the main roads but make across the country, lie in ambush, take cover behind fences near roads, and when civilians are seen approaching shout: 'Hands up!' Should the order be not obeyed, shoot, and shoot with effect. If the persons approaching carry their hands in their pockets or are in any way suspicious looking, shoot them down. You may make mistakes occasionally and innocent persons may be shot, but that cannot be helped and you are bound to get the right persons sometimes. The more you shoot the better I will like you; and I assure you that no policeman will get into trouble for shooting any man and I will guarantee that your names will not be given at the inquest.” [2]
At the time it was reported that the tone of the speech proved too much for many of the RIC men who refused to carry out the order and one officer, Constable Jeremiah Mee, put his gun on the table and called Smyth a murderer. He and 13 others resigned, most joining or assisting the Irish Republican Army. Mee became a confidant and ally of Michael Collins. Smyth subsequently returned to Cork where he was staying at the Cork & County Club, an establishment club with accommodation.
On the evening of 17 July 1920 he was in the Smoking Room of the club when an IRA party led by Dan "Sandow" O'Donovan entered and shot him dead. He was 34 years old.
Gerald Smyth was buried in his native Banbridge, County Down on 20 July 1920. His funeral was followed by days of rioting and attacks on Roman Catholic homes in the area. One man was shot and killed.
Smyth's brother, George Osbert Smyth, allegedly became a member of the Cairo Gang, an elite group of British intelligence officers in Dublin sent specially to spy on and eliminate leading IRA figures, in order to avenge his brother's death. However, he and most of the other Cairo Gang members were shot dead one day in November 1920 on the orders of Michael Collins. There is no evidence to support Osbert Smyth's membership of the Cairo Gang particularly as he was killed in October 1920 when trying to arrest IRA suspects from a house in Drumconda.
