Major General Sir Nevill Maskelyne Smyth, (14 August 1868 – 21 July 1941) was a senior officer in the British Army and a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. Early life Born the son of Warington Wilkinson Smyth, a noted geologist, his grandfather was Admiral William Henry Smyth. His father's sister, Henrietta Grace Powell, was Robert Baden-Powell's mother making Baden-Powell, the founder of the Scout Movement, Smyth's first cousin. Smyth was educated at Westminster School and graduated from the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, in 1888. He was posted to the Queen's Bays (2nd Dragoon Guards) in India as a second lieutenant on 22 August 1888. In 1890 he was attached to the Royal Engineers to assist with a railway survey during the Zhob Valley expedition. Sudan 1896 saw him stationed in Cairo with his regiment, and he was promoted lieutenant on 26 April. For his services in the initial stages of the Mahdist War he was mentioned in dispatches on 3 November 1896, and awarded the Order of the Medjidieh, Fourth Class in 1897. On 8 December 1897 Smyth was promoted captain. On 2 September came the Battle of Omdurman. Near to the end of the battle, a dervish tried to spear two war correspondents; Smyth galloped forward and, though severely speared through the arm, shot the man dead. This action saw him awarded the Victoria Cross. The citation was gazetted on 15 November 1898, and read: Smyth was also Mentioned in Despatches. In November 1899 he was Intelligence officer and ADC to Colonel Lewis, commanding the Infantry Brigade during the operations leading to the defeat of the Khalifa in the Battle of Umm Diwaykarat. He was Mentioned in Despatches, and was awarded the Order of Osmanieh, Fourth Class in 1900. Smyth rejoined the Queens Bays for active service in South Africa in the Second Boer War. He was awarded a brevet majority on 22 August 1902 for his South African service. Smyth was promoted to substantive major on 27 October 1903 when he transferred to the Carabiniers (6th Dragoon Guards), who were then in India and returned to South Africa in 1908. He was promoted lieutenant colonel on 1 May 1909, and became commanding officer of the Carabiniers. The regiment returned to England in 1912. According to the London Gazette,