Martin Linton Smith, The Times, 9 October 1950; p. 6, "Bishop Linton Smith former Bishop of Rochester" (4 July 1869 – 7 October 1950) was an Anglican bishop who served in three

diocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associa ...

s during the first half of the twentieth century.

Life

Smith was born into a clerical family – his father was the Very Revd James Allan Smith,

Dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...

of St David's Cathedral from 1904 until his death in 1918 He died in post during November 1918.– and educated at

Repton Repton is a village and civil parish in the South Derbyshire district of Derbyshire, England, located on the edge of the River Trent floodplain, about north of Swadlincote. The population taken at the 2001 Census was 2,707, increasing to 2,8 ...

and

Hertford College, Oxford Hertford College ( ), previously known as Magdalen Hall, is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It is located on Catte Street in the centre of Oxford, directly opposite the main gate to the Bodleian Library. The col ...

. Ordained priest in 1894 he was a curate at four parishes before securing his own

incumbency The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position, usually in relation to an election. In an election for president, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the office of president before the election, whether seeking re-ele ...

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colch ...

in 1902. By now married to Kathleen Dewe with a young family, he gained experience in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

eventually becoming a Cathedral Canon. His finest hour, however, was 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 ...

where he gained the DSO for his sterling work at The Somme, Arras and

Ypres Ypres ( , ; nl, Ieper ; vls, Yper; german: Ypern ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. Though the Dutch name is the official one, the city's French name is most commonly used in English. The municipality c ...

. He had been appointed a Temporary Chaplain to the Forces in April, 1915, serving at first in Prescott before being posted abroad. He was also Mentioned in Despatches. When peace came he was raised to the

episcopate A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

, firstly for two years as the suffragan Bishop of Warrington; then translated''New Suffragan Bishop. (Official Appointments and Notices)''

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'' (f ...

29 July 1920; p. 12 to the more senior post of diocesan Bishop of Hereford in 1920, serving there for a decade; and, finally, a further nine years as Bishop of Rochester. Retiring to Cheltenham in 1940 he died after a long life "rich in service".

Notes

Works

''Lambeth and Reunion: An Interpretation of the Mind of the Lambeth Conference of 1920'', with Frank Theodore Woods and Martin Linton Smith (London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1921).

Book cited

* 1869 births 1950 deaths People educated at Repton School Alumni of Hertford College, Oxford Bishops of Warrington Bishops of Hereford Bishops of Rochester Companions of the Distinguished Service Order 20th-century Church of England bishops {{ChurchofEngland-bishop-stub