Issy Smith

Issy Smith VC was a BritishAustralian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to eligible forces of the Commonwealth and United Kingdom. In recognition of his VC, he was also awarded the French Croix de Guerre and Russian Cross of St. George by the respective governments.

Smith was born in Alexandria, the son of French citizens Moses and Eva Shmeilowitz, who were of Russian origin. His father was employed by the French ConsulateGeneral as a clerk. Aged 11, Smith embarked as a stowaway aboard a vessel proceeding to London. Undaunted by this unfamiliar environment, Smith attended Berner Street School, Commercial Street, and worked as a deliverer in the East End, then an impoverished ghetto where Yiddish was the predominant spoken language. Persecution and extreme deprivation had compelled millions of Eastern European Jews to migrate to Western Europe, the Americas, and elsewhere. By the time of Issy Smiths arrival, Jewish immigration to Britain had peaked and was further curtailed by the enactment of the Aliens Act in 1905.

Source: Wikipedia