David Smiley

David de Crespigny Smiley

Smiley with Sultan Said bin Taimur, 1958
Born(1916-04-11)11 April 1916
London, England
Died9 January 2009(2009-01-09) (aged 92)
London, England
Allegiance United Kingdom
Service / branchBritish Army
Years of service1936–1947
1949–1973
RankColonel
UnitNo. 52 Commando
Blues and Royals
Somaliland Camel Corps
Royal Horse Guards
Special Operations Executive
CommandsRoyal Horse Guards
Sultan of Oman's Armed Forces
Battles / warsSecond World War
Operation Masterdom
Albanian Subversion
Jebel Akhdar War
North Yemen Civil War
AwardsLieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order
Officer of the Order of the British Empire
Military Cross & Bar
Mentioned in Despatches
Other workMilitary Attaché, Stockholm

Colonel David de Crespigny Smiley, LVO, OBE, MC & Bar (11 April 1916 – 9 January 2009) was a British special forces and intelligence officer. He fought in the Second World War in Palestine, Iraq, Persia, Syria, the Western Desert and with Special Operations Executive (SOE) in Albania and Thailand.

  1. ^ "Heroes and Villains". MI6: A Century in the Shadows. Episode 2. 3 August 2009. BBC Radio 4. Retrieved 18 January 2014.