TRAGIC IRISH STORY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19328, 15 May 1926, Page 2 (Supplement)

TRAGIC IRISH STORY.

SHOT BY SINN FEINERS. | DEATH OF MAJOR SMITH. BODY FOUND IN 800 HOLE. The body of Major Geoffry Compton Smith, 1).8.0. —wh0 was executed by the I.R.A. in 1921 as a reprisal for the execution of four I.R.A. men by the British military authorities—was recently removed to Collins Barracks at Cork, The body of tho distinguished soldier was found buried in a .bog-hole by tho Civic Guards—Free State police—from Blarney. The remains were not badly decomposed, and identification was quite possible. Under a FrW) otate Guard of Honour they were handed over to tho British authorities. This poignant tragedy, says the Dublin correspondent of the Herai.d, reminiscent of a terrible time, recalls one of tho saddest stories of the many sad and awful ones that have had to be chronicled in Irish history. Tho circumstances surrounding tho tragic death of Major Smith show that, even in the opinion of tho insurgents, Major Compton Smith wa.s a very gallant gentleman, a fine soldier, a cultured artist, a devoted father and a splendid husband. The Sinn Feiners liked him and treated him well when captured. The Sinn Fein commandant who conducted the firing squad wept with anguish on receiving the orders to carry out tho execution of tho major as "kindly and promptly as possible." The commandant dare not refuse or it would bo tho firing squad for himself. Ho begged his prisoner's forgiveness, received his last handshake, and in a few moments tho soul of an innocent man was sent before its Creator. Major Compton Smith was attached to tho 2nd Battery Royal Welsh Fusiliers. Ho was engaged as intelligence officer, and consequently his duties brought him to many different military stations in Ireland, including Cork and Buttevanl, and in which areas the fighting was persistent and bitter at tho period. Capture at Blarney Castle. Buttevant and journeyed by train to Blarney. He was in civilian attire, and he proceeded to the famous ruins of Blarney Castle to sketch them. There he was captured by armed insurgents and ultimately, after several midnight removals, was transferred to a Sinn Fein outpost at Donoughmore, not far from Blarney. He was executed on April 30. Two days previously four I.R.A. men had been executed in Cork City by the British. The men executed were: Thos. Roynane, aged 24; Thos. Mnlcahy, aged 18; Patrick Sullivan, aged 22; and Maurice Moore, aged 24. They had been charged with levying war against the King. On Sunday, March 29, 1921, Dublin Castle issued the following;—" The grave fears which have been entertained as to the fate of Major Compton Smith, D.5.0., Royal Welsh Fusiliers, who disappeared from Ballyvonare, Mallow, in very suspicious circumstances on April 16, have proved to be only too well-founded." There was no further announcement as to the fate of the major until June 2, when Sir Hamar Greenwood, the then chief secretary of Ireland, in the course of a defence of the Government's policy of reprisals, gave the particulars of the disappearance and death of the brave soldier.

The major, Sir JTamar said, was captured at Blarney Castle where he was sketching at the time. After his disappearance a communication was received from the rebels intimating that it was intended to shoot Major Comtpon Smith if certain executions in Cork were carried out. Those executions took place. Major's Last Letters to His Wife. Later in the debate Sir Hamar read the following let tar from Major Compton Smith to his wife, written an hour before he was killed: — "My Own Darling Little Wife.— l am to be "shot in an hour's time. Dearest, your hubby will die with your name on his lips, your face before his eyes and he will die like an Englishman and a soldier. 1 cannot tell you, sweetheart, how much it means to me to leave you alone. I have only the dearest, tenderest love for you and my sweet little child, Anne. 1 leave my cigarette-case to my regiment, my miniature medals to mv father. and my watch to the officer who is to execute me, because I believe him to be a gentleman, and to mark the fact that I bear him no malice for carrying ®ut what he sincerely believes to be his duty. Tender, tender, farewell and kisses.—Your own Jack. On the following day. June 3. Mrs. Compton Smith, in an interview with a journalist, at Niton, Isle of Wight, said she had not given up hope of her husband's safety. "My husband's father," she said, "has been told that my husband was seen alive as recently as last week. The whole thing seems mysterious, and we are still hoping that the Sinn Feiners may not have carried out their threat, although at the time he wrote the farewell letter to me, he was evidently under the impression that they intended to do so." " Nothing to Worry About." Mrs. Compton Smith then went on to say that the day after her husband fell into the hands of the Sinn Feiners, she received a letter from him in which he said: "While away sketching yesterday, I had the misfortune to get held up by the Sinn Feiners (1.R.A.). I am now a prisoner, but am very well treated. I have no doubt I shall -get out of this scrape, as I have got out of others. There is nothing to worry about." Mrs. Smith added :—"I heard no more from him until T received the letter yesterday from Sir Ilamar Greenwood. When I got it I also received the following: —- 'I am still going strong, and writo this lying on a heap of hay in a barn. It lias been most interesting to compare notes with the Sinn Feiners. Last night I had a discussion with a lot of them, representing different ranks and various grades of education, while sitting round the cottage fire. I was single-handed among them. Some of them were very bitter against us, but they treated me most fairly. The night ended up with a song, in which I joined heartily'." There is the whole poignant story.