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Memorial: M3345

PL Smith

Tomb in Père Lachaise, Paris commemorating Admiral Sir Sidney Smith d. 1840

Location

Père Lachaise, Paris, France, Rest of the World

Transcript

[On the side panels] 'ON SIR SIDNEY SMITH / Here rests the hero who undaunted stood, / When Acre's streets were red with Turkish blood; / In warlike France where great Napoleon rose, / The man who check'd his conquests finds repose. / Britain who claims his triumphs as her own, / Has raised for him her monumental stone; / This tomb, which marks his grave, is now supplied / by friends with whom he lived, midst whom he died; / A tribute to his memory - Here beneath / Lies the bold heart of England's Sidney Smith', 'ON LADY SIDNEY SMITH / Beloved by all to whom her worth was known,/ the pride of those who claimed her for their own / her cherished life too soon attained its close / And here her mortal relics find repose, / But in the minds of those who yet survive, Shall the remembrance of her virtues live; / And hearts that mourn for all they most held dear, / Cling to the only solace left them here, / That in that world where faith may hope for bliss, / Her spirit dwells in endless happiness' [upper compartment, on the right of the bust] 'SIR WILLIAM SIDNEY SMITH, G.C.B., / Admiral of the Red / Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath, / Grand Cross of several foreign Orders &c., / Born 21 July 1764 / Died 26 May, 1840' [upper compartment, on the left of the bust] 'CAROLINE MARY/Wife of/Admiral Sir Sidney Smith, / Born 10th May, 1760, / Died 16 May, 1826'

Details

Description: Sarcophagus, a pediment above with acroteria. There is a circular relief portrait of Smith on the side panel. The memorial was restored by the 1805 Club in 1999. The missing roundel portrait by Jacques-Louis David was discovered inside the tomb and reinstated.


Type: Tomb
Position: Sector III 43e division. Avenue des Anglais
Materials: White marble
Vessel: HMS Tigre

Event Category

1803-1815 Napoleonic War

People

Smith, William Sidney
Age:
Date of Death: 26/5/1840
Cause of Death: Unknown/None
Rank / Occupation: Admiral
Organisation: Royal Navy

Extra

Notes: Admiral Smith served with distinction throughout the French and Napoleonic Wars. He was a pioneer in new methods of naval warfare and one of the great heroes of the age.
Bibliography: 'Dictionary of National Biography'; 'Observer' colour magazine. 6/3/1983; John Barrow 'Life and Correspondance of Admiral Sir William Sidney Smith' (London, 1848), pp. 492-495 (engraving); Michel Dansel 'Au Pere Lachaise' (1973) p. 115. 'Newsletter of the 1805 Club,' March 2007, p. 10; Thomas Pocock 'A Thirst for Glory: The Life of Admiral Sir Sidney Smith.'
Photographer: Pieter van der Merwe
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