Robert Smith

Bank: Westminster Bank

Place of work: Deptford branch

Died: 17 December 1942

Robert Bruce Smith was born on 30 September 1923, the son of William and Lydia Smith. He joined the temporary wartime staff of Westminster Bank at its London Deptford branch on May 1940. 

He later left the bank to go on war service, becoming an Ordinary Seaman in the Royal Navy. He was part of the crew of HMS Firedrake, a Navy destroyer leading a convoy bound for Canada, when it was sunk by a U boat torpedo on the night of 16-17 December 1942. Smith, along with most of his crewmates, was killed. He was 19 years old.