Johnny Smythe | |
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Nickname(s) | Johnny |
Born | 1915 Freetown, Sierra Leone Colony and Protectorate |
Died | 1996 (aged 80–81) Thame, Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom[1] |
Buried | St Mary's Church, Thame |
Allegiance | British Empire |
Service/ | Royal Air Force |
Years of service | 1939–1951 |
Rank | Flight Lieutenant |
Service number | 144608 |
Unit | 623 Squadron |
Battles/wars | World War II • Western Front |
Awards | Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE), Order of the British Empire, Queens Councel, Member of the Republic of Sierre Leone, Order of St Lazarus |
Spouse(s) | Violet Wells Bain |
Relations | Donald Smythe, Jennifer Smythe, John Smythe, Eddy Smythe, Kathryn Smythe |
Other work | Barrister, Attorney General of Sierra Leone |
John Henry Clavell Smythe QC MBE (1915–1996) was a Sierra Leonean Royal Air Force officer during World War II and barrister. He was born a Sierra Leone Creole into the British Empire and served as a navigation officer in the Royal Air Force. He was shot down over Nazi Germany and spent two years as a prisoner of war. After liberation and return to Britain, he was a role model to those in the beginning of the Windrush Generation. He retrained as a lawyer, returned to his birthplace, and served as Attorney General of Sierra Leone.