Archibald Smeaton

Archibald Smeaton was a British Army officer who served in the 7th Armoured Division (known as the Desert Rats) as a tank commander during WW2.
== Biography ==
Archibald was born in Whitby in 1912. His father was a former naval officer and member of the local government associated with the Conservative Party. His mother was one of the civilians killed in the German raid on Whitby in WW1. Archibald was expected to either join the military or government like his father. He started by working for the local council after he got his degree in History, but he hated this job and decided to join the Army instead. His father wanted him to join the Navy, but Archibald hated sailing and sailors because of his experience with them as a child, as he was tormented by them for years. His father specifically told him that he should 'spend some years on a ship', which led to Archibald becoming a tanker so that he could claim to be the captain of a land ship. He joined the Mobile Division (Egypt) (which was later renamed to the 7th Armoured Division) in 1939 as an officer and would command tanks in the North African theatre of WW2, and later in Italy and the Western Front.
Category:Characters
Category:WW2