Sir John Lindsay Eric Smith (3 April 1923 – 28 February 2007) was a British banker,

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

Member of Parliament, and

Lord Lieutenant of Berkshire This is a list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of Berkshire. Since 1689, all Lords Lieutenant have also been Custos Rotulorum of Berkshire. Lord-Lieutenants of Berkshire *Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk 1545–22 August 1545 *E ...

. He was involved with many architectural, industrial and maritime conservation charities. He founded the

Landmark Trust The Landmark Trust is a British building conservation charity, founded in 1965 by Sir John and Lady Smith, that rescues buildings of historic interest or architectural merit and then makes them available for holiday rental. The Trust's headqua ...

in 1965.

Early and private life

Smith was born in London, the son of

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Evan Cadogan Eric Smith MC of

Ashfold Lower Beeding is a village and civil parish in the Horsham District of West Sussex, England. The village lies on the B2110, B2115 and A281 roads southeast from Horsham, and is centred on Holy Trinity Church and The Plough public house, where t ...

in Sussex and his wife, Beatrice ''Helen'' (née Williams). He was a scion of an old banking family: Smiths of Nottingham was founded in the 1650s, and merged with the

National Provincial Bank National Provincial Bank was a British retail bank which operated in England and Wales from 1833 until 1970 when it was merged into the National Westminster Bank. It continued to exist as a dormant non-trading company until 2016 when it was vo ...

after the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, and his father became its chairman. His mother was the daughter of Albert Williams and granddaughter of Sir George Williams, founder of the

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...

, and a great-granddaughter of

Thomas Cook Thomas Cook (22 November 1808 – 18 July 1892) was an English businessman. He is best known for founding the travel agency Thomas Cook & Son. He was also one of the initial developers of the "package tour" including travel, accommodation ...

. His elder sister,

Fortune Fortune may refer to: General * Fortuna or Fortune, the Roman goddess of luck * Luck * Wealth * Fortune, a prediction made in fortune-telling * Fortune, in a fortune cookie Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''The Fortune'' (1931 film) ...

, married Hugh FitzRoy, Earl of Euston (later 11th

Duke of Grafton Duke of Grafton is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1675 by Charles II of England for Henry FitzRoy, his second illegitimate son by the Duchess of Cleveland. The most notable duke of Grafton was Augustus FitzRoy, 3rd Duke ...

) in 1946; she was a

Lady of the Bedchamber Lady of the Bedchamber is the title of a lady-in-waiting holding the official position of personal attendant on a British queen regnant or queen consort. The position is traditionally held by the wife of a peer. They are ranked between the Mis ...

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

from 1953 and 1966, and was the

Mistress of the Robes The mistress of the robes was the senior lady in the Royal Household of the United Kingdom. Formerly responsible for the queen consort's/regnant's clothes and jewellery (as the name implies), the post had the responsibility for arranging the rota ...

from 1967 until her death 3 December 2021. Smith was educated at

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England * Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States * Éton, a commune in the Meuse dep ...

, where he was Captain of the Oppidans and won the Rosebery Prize for History. He joined the

Fleet Air Arm The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy and is responsible for the delivery of naval air power both from land and at sea. The Fleet Air Arm operates the F-35 Lightning II for maritime strike, the AW159 Wil ...

in 1942 and trained as an

observer An observer is one who engages in observation or in watching an experiment. Observer may also refer to: Computer science and information theory * In information theory, any system which receives information from an object * State observer in co ...

at HMS ''Daedalus''. He served in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

in a

Fairey Swordfish The Fairey Swordfish is a biplane torpedo bomber, designed by the Fairey Aviation Company. Originating in the early 1930s, the Swordfish, nicknamed "Stringbag", was principally operated by the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy. It was also used ...

squadron in the Mediterranean and the Atlantic, then as a liaison officer to the US Ninth Air Force, and then with a squadron of

Fairey Barracuda The Fairey Barracuda was a British carrier-borne torpedo and dive bomber designed by Fairey Aviation. It was the first aircraft of this type operated by the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm (FAA) to be fabricated entirely from metal. The Barracuda ...

in the North Atlantic. He flew as a

navigator A navigator is the person on board a ship or aircraft responsible for its navigation.Grierson, MikeAviation History—Demise of the Flight Navigator FrancoFlyers.org website, October 14, 2008. Retrieved August 31, 2014. The navigator's primar ...

in an operation to dive-bomb the German battleship ''Tirpitz'' in

Kvænangen Kvænangen ( sme, Návuotna; fkv, Naavuono) is a municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Burfjord. The European route E6 highway goes through the municipality and ove ...

fjord In physical geography, a fjord or fiord () is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Alaska, Antarctica, British Columbia, Chile, Denmark, Germany, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, Ice ...

in July 1944. He joined the aircraft carrier , and served in the Far East with

845 Naval Air Squadron 845 Naval Air Squadron is a squadron of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm. Part of the Commando Helicopter Force, it is a specialist amphibious unit operating the AgustaWestland Commando Merlin HC4 helicopter and provides troop transport and load ...

, flying Grumman Avengers. He was in

Ceylon Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

at the end of the War. After the War, he read history at

New College, Oxford New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as its feeder school, New College is one of the oldest colleges at th ...

, where he later became an honorary fellow in 1979. He met his future wife, Christian Carnegy, in Oxford, where she was reading English. They married in 1952. The couple had two sons and three daughters: *Serena Mary Smith (married The Rt. Hon Nicholas Soames, Baron Soames of Fletching, son of

Christopher Soames, Baron Soames Arthur Christopher John Soames, Baron Soames, (12 October 1920 – 16 September 1987) was a British Conservative politician who served as a European Commissioner and the last Governor of Southern Rhodesia. He was previously Member of Parliame ...

) *Bartholomew Evan Eric Smith (born 1 February 1955; founder of the Amber Foundation and West London Aero Club, killer of footballer

Peter Houseman Peter Houseman (24 December 1945–20 March 1977) was an English footballer who played as a winger. He was best known for his part in Chelsea's F.A. Cup-winning side of 1970. He later signed for Oxford United. He was killed along with his w ...

) *Adam Carnegy Eric Smith (born 1953) *Dido Smith *Emma Smith, who pre-deceased him Smith owned a property at No. 1,

Smith Square Smith Square is a square in Westminster, London, 250 metres south-southwest of the Palace of Westminster. Most of its garden interior is filled by St John's, Smith Square, a Baroque surplus church, which has inside converted to a concert hall ...

, in his former constituency. However, he resided at

Shottesbrooke Shottesbrooke is a hamlet (place), hamlet and civil parishes in England, civil parish administered by the unitary authority of the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in the English county of Berkshire. The hamlet is mostly rural: 88% cove ...

Park, near

Maidenhead Maidenhead is a market town in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in the county of Berkshire, England, on the southwestern bank of the River Thames. It had an estimated population of 70,374 and forms part of the border with southern Bu ...

in Berkshire, the ancient home of the Vansittart family which he inherited from his father's second cousin in 1962. He died in

Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places Australia * Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area * Windsor, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland **Shire of Windsor, a former local government authority around Wi ...

. He was survived by his wife, their two sons, and two of their three daughters.

Financial and political career

He followed the family tradition of being a director of Coutts and Co, the private bank and a subsidiary of National Provincial, in 1950. He was the ninth generation of Smiths to work in the bank. He remained a director for 43 years, until 1993. He also joined the boards of many other companies, including

Rolls-Royce Limited Rolls-Royce was a British luxury car and later an aero-engine manufacturing business established in 1904 in Manchester by the partnership of Charles Rolls and Henry Royce. Building on Royce's good reputation established with his cranes, they ...

, the

Ottoman Bank The Ottoman Bank ( tr, Osmanlı Bankası), known from 1863 to 1925 as the Imperial Ottoman Bank (french: Banque Impériale Ottomane, ota, بانق عثمانی شاهانه) and correspondingly referred to by its French acronym BIO, was a bank ...

and the ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...

''. He was also a deputy-governor of

Royal Exchange Assurance The Royal Exchange Assurance, founded in 1720, was a British insurance company. It took its name from the location of its offices at the Royal Exchange, London. Origins The Royal Exchange Assurance emerged from a joint stock insurance enterpr ...

. He was awarded the OBE in 1964. He was a

politician. After the death of the

Speaker of the House of Commons Speaker of the House of Commons is a political leadership position found in countries that have a House of Commons, where the membership of the body elects a speaker to lead its proceedings. Systems that have such a position include: * Speaker of ...

, Sir Harry Hylton Foster in 1965, Smith was elected to succeed him in the subsequent by-election as Member of Parliament for the Cities of London and Westminster. Smith served until he stood down in 1970. He was appointed a

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

in 1975. He served as High Steward of

, and as Lord-Lieutenant of Berkshire from 1975 to 1978. He was

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

ed in 1988 and became a

Companion of Honour The Order of the Companions of Honour is an order of the Commonwealth realms. It was founded on 4 June 1917 by King George V as a reward for outstanding achievements. Founded on the same date as the Order of the British Empire, it is sometimes ...

in 1994. He greatly enjoyed travelling, and claimed to be the first man to visit all of the explorers' huts in

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest contine ...

Conservation

Smith served on committees of the

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

from 1952 to 1995, and was deputy chairman from 1980 to 1995. He assisted financially with repairs to

Barlaston Hall Barlaston Hall is an English Palladian country house in the village of Barlaston in Staffordshire, on a ridge overlooking the valley of the River Trent to the west, about south of Stoke-on-Trent, with the towns of Stone about to the south, a ...

, damaged by

subsidence Subsidence is a general term for downward vertical movement of the Earth's surface, which can be caused by both natural processes and human activities. Subsidence involves little or no horizontal movement, which distinguishes it from slope move ...

due to coal mining. He also served on the

Standing Committee for Museums and Galleries Standing, also referred to as orthostasis, is a position in which the body is held in an ''erect'' ("orthostatic") position and supported only by the feet. Although seemingly static, the body rocks slightly back and forth from the ankle in the s ...

from 1958 to 1966, the

Historic Buildings Council Three separate historic buildings councils were created by the Historic Buildings and Ancient Monuments Act 1953, one for each of England, Scotland, and Wales. Each Historic Buildings Council advised the relevant government minister on the exercise ...

from 1971 to 1978, the Redundant Churches Fund from 1972 to 1974, and the

National Heritage Memorial Fund The National Heritage Memorial Fund (NHMF) was set up in 1980 to save the most outstanding parts of the British national heritage, in memory of those who have given their lives for the UK. It replaced the National Land Fund which had fulfilled the ...

from 1980 to 1982. He founded the

Manifold Trust The Manifold Trust was created by Sir John Smith in 1962 to generate funds for conservation in the UK, particularly of buildings, and to support other culturally important activities, including churches, arts, education, and the environment. The ...

in 1962, to raise money for charity by buying long leases close to the date of their expiry. The rather speculative venture was very successful, producing a "cataract of gold" which funded many of his charitable interests, including the

, which he and Lady Smith founded three years later, and which still operates from their estate at Shottesbrooke. Sir John identified and acquired properties for restoration, while Lady Smith supervised their fitting out, commissioning soft furnishings for each inspired by objects or design features associated with the buildings. He was involved in

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flow un ...

restoration through his friendship with

L. T. C. Rolt Lionel Thomas Caswall Rolt (usually abbreviated to Tom Rolt or L. T. C. Rolt) (11 February 1910 – 9 May 1974) was a prolific English writer and the biographer of major civil engineering figures including Isambard Kingdom Brunel and Thomas Te ...

, and was a driving force behind the preservation of HMS ''Belfast'', HMS ''Warrior'' and SS ''Great Britain''.

References

Obituary
''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'', 1 March 2007
Obituary
''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...

'', 3 March 2007
Obituary
''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'', 3 March 2007
Obituary
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', 10 March 2007 {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, John 1923 births 2007 deaths

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

Commanders of the Order of the British Empire People educated at Eton College Alumni of New College, Oxford Fellows of New College, Oxford Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Landmark Trust Lord-Lieutenants of Berkshire Knights Bachelor Members of the Order of the Companions of Honour People from Shottesbrooke UK MPs 1964–1966 UK MPs 1966–1970 Politics of the City of London Politics of the City of Westminster British waterways activists Fleet Air Arm personnel of World War II United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II Fleet Air Arm aviators