William Frederick Danvers Smith, 2nd Viscount Hambleden DL (12 August 1868 – 16 June 1928), known as Frederick Smith, was an English hereditary peer, businessman and politician. He studied at Eton, and

New College, Oxford New College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by Bishop William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as New College's feeder school, New College was one of the first col ...

Life and career

Smith was involved in the management of the family business,

W H Smith WH Smith plc, trading as WHSmith (also written WH Smith and formerly as W. H. Smith & Son), is a British retailer, with headquarters in Swindon, England, which operates a chain of railway station, airport, port, hospital and motorway service st ...

, which was founded by his grandfather, William Henry Smith. He inherited sole control of the business from his father in 1891 and passed it on to his son. In 1891, he also succeeded his father William Henry Smith as Member of Parliament for the Strand constituency, holding the seat until January 1910. His rapid succession to the seat his father held in Parliament may have played a role in his being targeted for

blackmail Blackmail is a criminal act of coercion using a threat. As a criminal offense, blackmail is defined in various ways in common law jurisdictions. In the United States, blackmail is generally defined as a crime of information, involving a thr ...

by the notorious poisoner Dr. Thomas Neill Cream, who (writing under an assumed name) claimed to have proof that Smith had poisoned a

prostitute Prostitution is a type of sex work that involves engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-pe ...

. This was one of three known attempts at blackmail that may have been the real motive for Cream's string of poisonings in the

Stepney Stepney is an area in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in the East End of London. Stepney is no longer officially defined, and is usually used to refer to a relatively small area. However, for much of its history the place name was applied to ...

and

Lambeth Lambeth () is a district in South London, England, which today also gives its name to the (much larger) London Borough of Lambeth. Lambeth itself was an ancient parish in the county of Surrey. It is situated 1 mile (1.6 km) south of Charin ...

areas of London from October 1891 to April 1892. They played a small role in the final arrest, prosecution and conviction of Cream at the

Old Bailey The Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, commonly referred to as the Old Bailey after the street on which it stands, is a criminal court building in central London, one of several that house the Crown Court of England and Wales. The s ...

in October 1892, and his

execution Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in ...

the following month. Smith was commissioned

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

in the 2nd Buckinghamshire Rifle Volunteers (Eton College) in 1885, but resigned in 1887. In 1891 he was commissioned Second Lieutenant in the Royal 1st Devon Yeomanry. He was promoted Lieutenant in 1892,

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

in 1895,

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

10 February 1902, and Lieutenant-Colonel in 1914. He served with the

Imperial Yeomanry The Imperial Yeomanry was a volunteer mounted force of the British Army that mainly saw action during the Second Boer War. Created on 2 January 1900, the force was initially recruited from the middle classes and traditional yeomanry sources, but s ...

during the

Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic an ...

. Smith was made Honorary

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

of the Royal Devon Yeomanry

Artillery Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...

in 1922. He succeeded his mother, Emily Smith, as

Viscount Hambleden Viscount Hambleden, of Hambleden in the Buckinghamshire, County of Buckingham, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1891 (as Viscountess Hambleden) for Emily Danvers Smith, 1st Viscountess Hambleden, Emily Danvers ...

following her death in 1913. He married Esther Georgiana Caroline ''nee'' Gore, a daughter of Arthur Gore, 5th Earl of Arran. Smith was succeeded by their son, William Henry Smith. They had four other children: Edith Mabell Emily (1901–1973), James Frederick Arthur (b. 1906), David John (1907–1976) and Margaret Esther Lucie (1908–1980). Smith was the main sponsor of the ''

Victoria County History The Victoria History of the Counties of England, commonly known as the Victoria County History (VCH), is an English history project which began in 1899 with the aim of creating an encyclopaedic history of each of the historic counties of Englan ...

'' from 1909 until 1931. In May 1902, he was the first person to receive the honorary freedom of the borough of

Henley-on-Thames Henley-on-Thames ( ) is a town status in the United Kingdom, town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish on the River Thames, in the South Oxfordshire district, in Oxfordshire, England, northeast of Reading, Berkshire, Reading, west of M ...

, "in recognition of his valuable services to the borough and his munificent donation to the building fund of the new Town hall".

References

Bibliography

* * * Wilson, Charles. ''First With the News: The History of W. H. Smith 1792-1972'', London: Jonathan Cape, 1985.

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hambleden, Frederick Smith, 2nd Viscount 1868 births 1928 deaths People educated at Eton College Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry officers British businesspeople in retailing Viscounts in the Peerage of the United Kingdom Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Smith, Frederick Smith, Frederick Smith, Frederick Smith, Frederick Smith, Frederick Smith, Frederick UK MPs who inherited peerages Smith, Frederick People associated with King's College London Fellows of King's College London British Army personnel of the Second Boer War Deputy lieutenants of Devon Royal 1st Devon Yeomanry officers Imperial Yeomanry officers People from Filey Sportspeople from Yorkshire