£1,800
Battle of Britain. The Great War CBE and pair of Joseph Smith, Chief Designer Supermarine Aviation Ltd, The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire Commander's neck badge (Civil Division) in Garrard & Co Ltd case, British War Medal and Victory Medal MB2748 J Smith MM RNVR and two groups of miniature medals and Imperial Service Medal, Edward VII Star and George V circular type Edith Hunter, the first in Elkington & Co Ltd case
CBE: London Gazette, 1 January 1946
The aircraft designer Joseph Smith (1897-1956) was the 'right hand man' and successor of R J Mitchell, creator of the Spitfire.
After a technical education in Birmingham, followed by apprenticeship to the Austin Motor Co which was interrupted by World War One, Joe Smith transferred to Austin Aircraft Development Department until, in 1920, it was closed by the car manufacturer. He was promptly recruited by Supermarine and by 1926 was Chief Draughtsman with a staff of thirty-eight. Throughout the 1920's and 30's he worked closely with R J Mitchell on all Supermarine aircraft designs. Following Mitchell's premature death in 1937, his immediate successor was soon dismissed and with government approval Smith was appointed Chief Designer Supermarine Aviation Ltd in 1941. His role was pivotal to the development of the Spitfire before and during World War Two. Awarded the Silver Medal of the Royal Aeronautical Society 1950, following his death in 1956, the Society acknowledged his work "of an outstanding nature in aeronautics" by the award of its Gold Medal.
Mitchell's genius and determination, ably supported and continued by Joseph Smith, was immortalised in the inspiring wartime film The First of his Few, a honorific allusion to the heroism of Battle of Britain pilots
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