AI helped me discover grandad was a covert WW2 soldier

When Mark Townsend was growing up, his late grandfather was always his hero. But his family knew very little about his role in World War Two after he died in the final months of the conflict.

There had always been rumours within Townsend's family that Cyril Smith had been in some kind of special service.

Older relatives said Smith used to disappear for weeks on end but they did not know where he went and he was not allowed to tell them.

Townsend spent 17 years searching for information, but it was not until he used an AI engine that he was able to uncover that Smith worked for a covert operation, planning to disrupt German forces.

"I couldn't have imagined how much we'd find out," Townsend said.

When he used the AI search engine, Townsend said it brought up a group photograph.

"It had captions above every man and there was Smith's name above this man I didn't recognise.

"I sent the picture to my mum and could hear the emotion in her voice as she said, 'that's him, that's my dad'," Townsend said.

He described it as a "phenomenal" moment to have finally found a detailed picture of Smith in his uniform with his unit.

The group photograph led to Townsend finding Smith's full service record, and it turned out the family rumours of special forces involvement might have had some truth.

Smith's service record showed he had been part of the Frome Auxiliary Unit, based in the Somerset town where he lived.

The unit was secretly preparing for a German invasion of England and training in guerrilla warfare so members could disrupt German forces as resistance fighters.

"The more we know, the more proud we are of him," said Townsend.

As the likelihood of a German invasion faded, the auxiliary units were disbanded in 1944 and Smith joined the Wiltshire Regiment, before being deployed to the frontline.

Once he knew which regiment Smith served in, Townsend and his uncle Paul Smith were able to get hold of a copy of a book charting its journey to Germany.

"I found a bookshop in Canada which had a mint copy. I paid a bit more for it than I should have - I didn't tell my wife," said Townsend.

The book said that early one morning Sergeant Smith was brewing up a cup of tea on the frontline when a German bullet "fired from 30 yards, went through his steel helmet and just rubbed the skin of his scalp".

He survived and stayed with his unit.

The only photograph the family had for decades was a newspaper clipping which showed Smith on patrol in Germany.

It was printed in The Daily Mirror a few weeks after it was taken, on what would turn out to be the day Smith was killed, Valentine's Day 1945.

Smith's son Paul said it had been "fantastic" finding the further pictures and details, including discovering his dad had met him as a baby.

"When I was born I was a big lump, my mother was a very small lady and nearly died having me," said Paul.

His father came home on compassionate leave and the family recently discovered his commanding officer had told him: "You don't need to come back Cyril, it's nearly all over" but he insisted on re-joining his men in Germany, and was then killed.

"I do feel a bit of anger that he could have stayed and I could have got to know him," said Paul.

"I would have loved to have known him and for him to have been part of my life," he added.

For the next generation, the feeling shared was of "immense pride".

"To us he was my grandfather that I never met - he was a hero," said Mark.

"We owe the life we live now to men like him," he added.

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