Nevill Maskelyne Smyth Major General Sir Nevill Maskelyne Smyth , ( 14 August 1868 – 21 July 1941 ) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross , the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces . Early life . Born the son of Sir Warington Wilkinson Smyth , a noted geologist , his grandfather was Admiral WH 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 Despatches 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 the campaign culminated in the Battle of Omdurman . Near to the end of the battle , a dervish tried to spear two war correspondent s ; 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 . He 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 31 October 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 " , he completed the standard four - year period as a regimental commander on 1 May 1909 , and was placed on half - pay . However the same issue , carried notice of his promotion to colonel backdated to 4 December 1912 . He was seconded to the Egyptian Army , and in 1913 – 14 he was commandant of the Khartoum district where he was active in combating the slave - trade . First World War . Smyth was dispatched to Gallipoli by Lord Kitchener , arriving in May 1915 . He commanded the 1st Australian Infantry Brigade as a temporary brigadier - general at the Battle of Lone Pine and was one of the last officers to leave the peninsula , he was appointed Companion of the Order of the Bath ( CB ) on 1 January 1916 , and received a further Mention in Despatches on 28 January 1916 . Smyth led the brigade in France in 1916 , and on 28 December was given command of the 2nd Australian Division as a temporary major general . He was Mentioned in Despatches twice more , on 15 May 1917 and 11 December 1917 , and was promoted substantive major general on 1 January 1918 as a " reward for distinguished service in the field . " He was transferred back to the British Army in May 1918 and briefly commanded the 58th ( 2 / 1st London ) Division and then the 59th ( 2nd North Midland ) Division , leading the latter during the liberation of Lille in October 1918 . He had learned to fly in 1913 and was known for borrowing aircraft to look at the lines for himself . He was yet again Mentioned in Despatches on 20 December 1918 . He was promoted Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath ( KCB ) in the 1919 King ' s Birthday Honours . On 30 July 1919 was appointed General Officer Commanding 47th ( 1 / 2nd London ) Division ( Territorial Force ) . During the war he had also been awarded the Belgian Croix de Guerre , and the French Légion d ' honneur in the grade of Officer . In all , he was Mentioned in Despatches eleven times during his career . He was appointed Honorary Colonel of the 3rd Dragoon Guards on 1 October 1920 . He relinquished command of his division on 30 July 1923 . Smyth retired from the British Army on 5 July 1924 , and relinquished his Honorary Colonelcy on 16 October 1925 . Australia . After his retirement he emigrated to Australia and farm in Balmoral , Victoria in 1925 with his wife and three children . He took to politics in the National Party of Australia and stood unsuccessfully for a Victorian seat in the Australian Senate . He died at home in 1941 and was buried in Balmoral Cemetery . One of his sons , Dacre Smyth , followed a military career in the Royal Australian Navy rising to commodore .