Harry Watson Smith (30 September 1886 – 24 June 1955) was an English colliery manager and

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

er who played for

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...

in 1912 and for

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

in 1920. Smith was born in

Chesterfield Chesterfield may refer to: Places Canada * Rural Municipality of Chesterfield No. 261, Saskatchewan * Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom * Chesterfield, Derbyshire, a market town in England ** Chesterfield (UK Parliament constitue ...

and was educated at

Worksop College Worksop College (formerly St Cuthbert's College) is a British co-educational independent school for both day and boarding pupils aged 13 to 18, in Worksop. It sits at the northern edge of Sherwood Forest, in Nottinghamshire, England. Founded ...

and

Sheffield University , mottoeng = To discover the causes of things , established = – University of SheffieldPredecessor institutions: – Sheffield Medical School – Firth College – Sheffield Technical School – University College of Sheffield , type = Pu ...

. He became a Member of the

Institution of Mechanical Engineers The Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) is an independent professional association and learned society headquartered in London, United Kingdom, that represents mechanical engineers and the engineering profession. With over 120,000 member ...

, and a Member of the

Institution of Civil Engineers The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) is an independent professional association for civil engineers and a charitable body in the United Kingdom. Based in London, ICE has over 92,000 members, of whom three-quarters are located in the UK, whi ...

. He was manager at Ansley Hall Colliery, Warwickshire. Smith made his first-class cricket debut for Warwickshire in 1912, when he appeared in one match against

, in which he kept wicket and scored 15 runs in the lower order. Smith's second and final County match was for Derbyshire, in a match in the 1920 season against

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

Though he was dismissed cheaply in the first innings, he made a career-best 24 not out in the second. He was a right-handed batsman and wicket-keeper and played three innings in two first-class matches making 49 runs with a top score of 24 not out. Smith held positions as manager of Denaby Main Colliery and General Manager of Glass Houghton and

Castleford Castleford is a town within the City of Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England. It had a population of 45,106 at a 2021 population estimate. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, to the north of the town centre the River Calder joins the ...

Collieries,

Whitehaven Whitehaven is a town and port on the English north west coast and near to the Lake District National Park in Cumbria, England. Historically in Cumberland, it lies by road south-west of Carlisle and to the north of Barrow-in-Furness. It is th ...

Colliery Co. Ltd. and of the Sheffield Coal Company Ltd. In 1936 he was appointed General Manager of the Hardwick Colliery Company and the Hardwick By-Product Company. He became deputy chairman and managing director of both Companies. He was a Director and Consultant to the Chislet Colliery, and deputy chairman and Collieries Advisor of the

Lilleshall Company The Lilleshall Company was a large engineering company in Oakengates Shropshire founded in 1802. Its operations included mechanical engineering, coal mining, iron and steel making and brickworks. The company was noted for its winding, pumping and ...

'. In 1942, he visited the US for the Government to investigate American mining methods. In 1945 he was a Member of the Technical Advisory Committee on Coal Mining to the

Ministry of Fuel and Power The Ministry of Power was a United Kingdom government ministry dealing with issues concerning energy. The Ministry of Power (then named Ministry of Fuel and Power) was created on 11 June 1942 from functions separated from the Board of Trade. ...

and was also a member of the Mechanisation Advisory Committee to the Ministry. He was a member of the executive committee of the British Coking Industry Association and other National Committees of the Coking Industry. In 1945 and 1946, he was President of the Midland Institute of Mining Engineers. After nationalisation he was Production Director for the East Midland Division of the National Coal Board. He was a Fellow of the

Geological Society of London The Geological Society of London, known commonly as the Geological Society, is a learned society based in the United Kingdom. It is the oldest national geological society in the world and the largest in Europe with more than 12,000 Fellows. Fe ...

and a J.P. He lived at "The Cedars," Tibshelf, Derbyshire.Durham Mining Museum Who's Who
/ref> Smith died in

Ruthin Ruthin ( ; cy, Rhuthun) is a market town and community in Denbighshire, Wales, in the south of the Vale of Clwyd. It is Denbighshire's county town. The town, castle and St Peter's Square lie on a hill, skirted by villages such as Pwllglas and ...

Denbighshire Denbighshire ( ; cy, Sir Ddinbych; ) is a county in the north-east of Wales. Its borders differ from the historic county of the same name. This part of Wales contains the country's oldest known evidence of habitation – Pontnewydd (Bontnewy ...

at the age of 68.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Harry 1886 births 1955 deaths Derbyshire cricketers English cricketers Warwickshire cricketers Cricketers from Chesterfield, Derbyshire Wicket-keepers