Norman Lockhart Smith ( Chinese Translated Name: 史美; 29 May 1887 – 27 January 1968) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

colonial administrator who served as Acting Administrator of Hong Kong on various occasions. Smith was born in Ryton, County Durham, England. Smith's father was a businessman and politician Hugh Crawford Smith, who was elected M.P. for

Tyneside Tyneside is a built-up area across the banks of the River Tyne in northern England. Residents of the area are commonly referred to as Geordies. The whole area is surrounded by the North East Green Belt. The population of Tyneside as publishe ...

in 1900. Smith's mother was Hannah Ralston Lockhart. Smith was educated in

Sedbergh Sedbergh ( or ) is a town and civil parish in Cumbria, England. The 2001 census gave the parish a population of 2,705, increasing at the 2011 census to 2,765. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, it lies about east of Kendal, nor ...

and attended

Queen's College, Oxford The Queen's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford, England. The college was founded in 1341 by Robert de Eglesfield in honour of Philippa of Hainault. It is distinguished by its predominantly neoclassical architecture, ...

. He entered the

Hong Kong Civil Service The Hong Kong Civil Service is managed by 13 policy bureaux in the Government Secretariat (Hong Kong), Government Secretariat, and 67 departments and agencies, mostly staffed by civil servants. The Secretary for the Civil Service (SCS) is one of t ...

in 1910 and was seconded for military service during the First World War. In Hong Kong, Smith was appointed principal assistant colonial secretary in 1931, director of education in 1933 and secretary for Chinese affairs in 1934. He served as colonial secretary from 1936 to 1941 and acting governor on several occasions. In 1962, Smith and Sir

Robert Kotewall Sir Robert Hormus Kotewall (羅旭龢; 1880–1949) was a British Hong Kong businessman, civil servant and legislator. Early life Kotewall was born in 1880. He was the son of Hormusjee Rustomjee Kotewall, an Indian Parsi, and Cheung A-cheung. ...

published translations for ''The Penguin Book of Chinese Verse''. In 1914, Smith married Maud Violet Banister in Hong Kong.''UK, Registers of Births, Marriages and Deaths From British Consulates, 1810-1968'' He returned to England after retirement and died in

Selham Selham is a small village in the Chichester district of West Sussex, England. It lies south of the A272 road 3 miles (4.8 km) east of Midhurst. It is mainly in the civil parish of Graffham, but partly in that of Lodsworth to the north. His ...

, aged 80.

Honours

Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) (1937)

References

External links

* 1887 births 1968 deaths People from Ryton, Tyne and Wear Alumni of The Queen's College, Oxford Chief Secretaries of Hong Kong 20th-century British civil servants British colonial governors and administrators in Asia Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George {{UK-gov-bio-stub