Born in Westminster to George, a surgeon and his wife Louise Darwall-Smith. He married Josephine Barbara Crompton of Betton Hall, Drayton, a teacher, in 1940 in Whitchurch, Shropshire, and they had four sons. She was the sister of the three Crompton brothers that Randle had known from Charterhouse and Oxford and who all joined the RAF. Sadly two would be killed during the war, Ralph on 2 Jun 1940 in his Spitfire over the beaches at Dunkirk and John 3 years later in Greece when his Beaufighter crashed. Josephine died in 1961 and he was advertising for domestic help at their home Riggs, Arundel Road, Seaford, Sussex. He later married Margaret Haydon in Oct 1962 and they had a son, Robin. Margaret died in 2021. He lived in and around Seaford from his demobilisation in 1945/6 until his death in 1999.
He was an Oxford University cricketer, playing as a fast bowler 1935-1938. After the war he become a Headmaster of St Wilfrid's School, Seaford, Sussex. He played one season first class cricket for Sussex in 1946.
His brother John Anderton Darwall-Smith, born 1912, served with Phantom (GHQ Liaison Regiment) another secret unit that provided strategic reconnaissance for the Army. Randle attended his brother's wedding in December 1939 in his military uniform.
| Unit or location | Role | Posted from | until |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duntish Court, Dorset | Intelligence Officer | 12 Dec 1942 | 13 Aug 1943 |
| Dorset | Intelligence Officer | 12 Dec 1942 | 02 Feb 1943 |
| Dorset | Intelligence Officer | 04 Feb 1943 | 13 Aug 1943 |
| Norfolk | Intelligence Officer | 13 Aug 1943 | 26 Sep 1944 |
| Essex | Intelligence Officer | 01 Jan 1941 | 11 Dec 1942 |
| River House, Essex | Intelligence Officer | 1942 | 1942 |
| Essex | Intelligence Officer | 16 Jun 1944 | 26 Sep 1944 |
| Witham, Essex | Intelligence Officer | 08 Jun 1944 | 18 Jun 1944 |
| Suffolk | Intelligence Officer | 08 Jun 1944 | 26 Sep 1944 |
Brasenose College, Oxford
Teacher, post war Headmaster
He commanded C Company, 7th Battalion Royal Sussex Regiment which formed part of the British Expeditionary Force in France. He can be seen second from right in the front of a photo of the Officers of the 7th Battalion Royal Sussex Regiment taken in March 1940.
18 May 1940 2nd Lieutenant R.F.H Darwall-Smith was reported wounded as part of the Expeditionary Force in France. The train carrying the 7th Royal Sussex was bombed shortly after reaching Amiens station. A bomb hit the Officers coach (the men were in cattle trucks) killing 3 and wounding 10. He was sufficiently wounded to have to be evacuated, another officer taking command of his company. However this meant he missed the action two days later, when the Battalion was all but destroyed trying to prevent the advance of a German Panzer Division. Most of the survivors were captured and spent the war as prisoners. After he was wounded, he was put in a French hospital, and even recorded as missing for a short time. He was lying in his bed in a ward when a British officer came in and asked if there were any British people there. He stuck his hand up, and soon afterwards was taken away. He recalled being whisked across France and finally being evacuated from Bordeaux back to Britain.
Dec 1941 7th Battalion Royal Sussex was disbanded. Most of the men left by April and it is thought he transferred to Auxiliary Units at the start of the year. He was joined by Captain J.W Holberton who transferred from the same battalion to become Intelligence Officer in Suffolk.
Intelligence Officer Essex as Captain 1941 to 22 Jan 1942.
Whilst in Essex he still managed to fit in some cricket, while also preparing for an invasion. He appeared for TH Windibanks XI, made up of First class players, against a British Empire XI at the Chelmsford Cricket Festival in June 1941, taking 5 wickets for 50 runs. The match was to raise funds for the Red Cross. He enjoyed another match for a composite side in a match to raise money for Harlow St John's Ambulance Association, taking 7 wickets. The players signed a bat and ball, which was raffled and in the evening there was a ball. The event raised over £60 for the charity. On 26 July 1941 he appeared at Southend for the Army XI against an RAF XI, making 11 runs.
Intelligence Officer Dorset as Captain from 12 Dec 1942 at Bingham Melcombe House.
Promoted Acting Major 4 Feb 1943 and between 16 March 1943 and 13 Aug 1943 was at Duntish Court, Dorset.
Intelligence Officer Norfolk as Major. Arrived 13 Aug 1943 and was still there on 22 Apr 1944.
He became the sole Intelligence Officer for East Anglia (Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex) by 8 Jun 1944, with the headquarters moving from Witham to Framlingham on 16 Jun. On 27 Sep 1944 he handed over to Areas 2 and 3 and left Auxiliary Units.
Leaving Auxiliary Units he is thought to have returned to his regiment and was involved in training recruits for the war in North West Europe.
11 Jul 1964 ceased to belong to Territorial Reserve Officer.
Having hardly spoken about his wartime service, even to his family, he received a letter from Whitehall authorising him to speak to author David Lampe, who was writing the first book to tell the story of Auxiliary Units. This at last allowed him the opportunity to talk about his service and he was photographed for the book as well. Despite the length of the interview he features in only a single sentence in the book and even then Lampe managed to say he was at Cambridge, not Oxford, which unsurprisingly was crossed out and corrected in his personal copy of the book. He also made other annotations confirming which elements he had provided for the book, even though they were not directly attributed. He added his initials (RFHDS) in places to indicate where statements referred to him. Sadly the notes of the interview do not appear to have survived. Researchers from the Parham Airfield Museum attempted to track them down, but they appear to have been lost. Despite the publication of The Last Ditch, he continued to say very little about the war, only occasionally mentioning Beatrice Temple, former ATS commander with Auxiliary Units, who was living nearby in Sussex. He would wear his medals on Remembrance Sunday but the only other recognition of his military servie was membership of the Army and Navy Club, and his visits there were the only time he would use the title Major he was entitled to.
The Last Ditch, David Lampe
British Army Casualty List TNA ref WO417/1
Wisden Cricket Monthly
War Diary 7th Battalion Royal Sussex Regiment
Photo of Officers of 7th Battalion Royal Sussex
WO199/3265
Robin Darwall-Smith
Chelmsford Chronicle 4 Jun 1941, 13 Jun 1941
Liverpool Echo 26 July 1941
Hearts and Essex Observer 9 Aug 1941
Eastbourne Herald 30 Dec 1939