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Northern Ireland (Operation Banner)
A brief honeymoon as peace keepers between two warring communities locked in civil unrest descended into a virtual civil war ...
Lt Col ‘Larry’ Orpen Smellie was one of the county’s leading rifle shots, and represented at international level for over forty years. He is regarded as one of the finest all round shots produced by any of the British Armed Forces since 1945.He was commissioned into The Essex Regiment in December 1949. Following a tour with 1 PARA, he joined The Parachute Regiment’s newly formed permanent officer cadre in 1958.
During an Army career spanning 30 years he held a number of posts in The Parachute Regiment at Depot, 1 PARA and 3 PARA, latterly as battalion 2i/c. He deployed on operations to British Guiana, Cyprus and Northern Ireland.
‘Larry’ was promoted Lieutenant-Colonel in 1977 and posted chief instructor of the small arms wing of the School of Infantry. He was appointed an OBE in 1980 for his services to military shooting.
After retiring in 1984, ‘Larry’ continued to be extremely active, particularly as a committee member of the National Rifle Association and was elected a vice-president of the National Rifle Association in 1997.
Profile photograph kindly supplied by Col Giles Orpen-Smellie.
Service History
- 1949 The Essex Regiment (Captain)
- 1956 Depot The Parachute Regiment and Airborne Forces (Captain)
- 1957 The 1st Battalion The Parachute Regiment (1 PARA) (Captain)
- 1958 The 1st Battalion The Parachute Regiment (1 PARA) (Captain)
- 1959 Depot The Parachute Regiment and Airborne Forces (Major)
- 1961 Staff College Pakistan (Major)
- 1962 General Staff Officer 2nd Grade (GSO2) Malaya (Major)
- 1965 The 3rd Battalion The Parachute Regiment (3 PARA) (Major)
- 1968 General Staff Officer 2nd Grade (GSO2) Ministry of Defence (Major)
- 1970 The 3rd Battalion The Parachute Regiment (3 PARA) (Major)
- 1973 General Staff Officer 2nd Grade (GSO2) HQ North East District (Major)
- 1974 (Major)
