Henry d'Avigdor-Goldsmid

Major Sir Henry Joseph ('Harry') d'Avigdor-Goldsmid, 2nd Baronet, DSO, MC was an English officer of the British Army who served during the Second World War. In civilian life, d'Avigdor-Goldsmid, who was also known as Harry Goldsmid, became a politician and bullion broker.
He was born on 10 June 1909, in Somerhill, the eldest son of Sir Osmond Elim and Alice d'Avigdor-Goldsmid (née Landau). His father, who was a prominent leader within the Jewish community, was given a baronetcy in 1934. He was educated at Harrow and Balliol College, from where he graduated in 1931. After his graduation, he entered the family's bullion brokerage, Mocatta and Goldsmid.Keith Joseph, ‘Goldsmid, Sir Henry Joseph D'Avigdor-, second baronet (1909–1976)’, rev. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 accessed 29 July 2015 On 12 June 1938, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Territorial Army's 4th Battalion, Royal West Kent Regiment.The London Gazette (34521), p. 3831. 14 June 1938. Retrieved 30 July 2015. He served with it in the Battle of Dunkirk,Arbabanel, Martin, The Canadian Jewish Chronicle: "Jews Who Fight for Britain". 4 July 1941 and later transferred to the 53rd (Welsh) Reconnaissance Regiment.
With the 53rd, d'Avigdor-Goldsmid landed at Normandy on 23 June 1944, in command of "B" Squadron.Cowburn, P M (1946), Welsh Spearhead: a history of the 53rd Reconnaissance Regiment, 1941-1946, p. 46. The 53rd fought throughout the campaign in Normandy and the advance into the Lowlands. On 21 September, d'Avigdor-Goldsmid led two troops of recce cars and carriers into the village of Hoogeloon, taking 200 prisoners and inflicting about 60 casualties on the German garrison.Cowburn, P M (1946), Welsh Spearhead: a history of the 53rd Reconnaissance Regiment, 1941-1946, p. 86.Delaforce, Patrick (2015), Red Crown and Dragon: 53rd Welsh Division in North-West Europe, 1944-1945, p. 98 His regiment continued to be at the forefront of its division's advance, and in April 1945 repulsed a German counter-attack on Stemmen. He suffered serious wounds to his face, arms, and legs at Stemmen, but was nevertheless able to organise a successful defence.Cowburn, P M (1946), Welsh Spearhead: a history of the 53rd Reconnaissance, p. 126. For these two actions, d'Avigdor-Goldsmid was awarded the Military Cross and Distinguished Service Order, respectively. He was also twice mentioned in despatches.
After being demobilised, d'Avigdor-Goldsmid resumed his career as a broker. He was prominent in the civil life of Kent, holding a number of positions in the county, including that of justice of the peace and high sheriff. In 1955, he was elected to parliament as the Conservative MP for Walsall South. His political career lasted for 19 years, during which he chaired a number of parliamentary committees and briefly acted as private secretary to Duncan Sandys, Minister for Housing.
Although not religious, d'Avigdor-Goldsmid maintained his family's involvement in the Jewish community. He was president of the Jewish Colonisation Association for 25 years, and realigned its focus towards Israel rather than on training East European Jews to become farmers in South America. He also opposed in parliament bills that sort to prohibit shechita (the religious method of slaughtering animals for food). He served as chairman of Bank Leumi and the Anglo-Israel Bank.
He died on 11 December 1976, in London, and was succeeded to the baronetcy by his brother, James. He had married in 1940, to Rosemary Margaret Horlick. Their eldest daughter, Sarah, died in 1963, in a sailing accident. Her life was commemorated by a series of glass panes at Tudely Church designed by the artist Mark Chagall.
==Notes==
Category:1909 births
Category:1976 deaths
Category:British military personnel
Category:British Army
Category:British people of Jewish descent
Category:Buried in England
Category:Majors