Sir William Alexander Smith (27 October 1854 – 10 May 1914), the founder of the

Boys' Brigade The Boys' Brigade (BB) is an international interdenominational Christianity, Christian youth organisation, conceived by the Scottish businessman William Alexander Smith (Boys' Brigade), Sir William Alexander Smith to combine drill and fun acti ...

, was born in Pennyland House,

Thurso Thurso (pronounced ; , ) is a town and former burgh on the north coast of the Highland council area of Scotland. Situated in the historical County of Caithness, it is the northernmost town on the island of Great Britain. From a latitudinal s ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. He was the eldest son of Major David Smith and his wife Harriet. He had one sister and two brothers.

Education

Smith was educated at the Miller Institution, known as the "Thurso Academy". There is now a building at Boys' Brigade Headquarters in Hemel Hempstead called the Thurso Centre. Following his father's death, his family moved to

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

. In early January 1869, he became a pupil in a private school, The Western Educational Institution, more widely known as "Burns' and Sutherland’s School". In his first and only term there, he took seven prizes. His time in the institution was short-lived as he ended his school days late in May, aged 14. Nonetheless, Smith did not cease his education altogether. His writings in a notebook indicated that he continued to take French classes after joining his uncle's business.

Late adolescence and adulthood

In October 1869, a few days before his 15th birthday, be began working in his uncle's business. Alex. Fraser & Co. were wholesale dealers in "soft goods", shawls being one of their chief markets. He later joined the 1st Lanarkshire Rifle Volunteers, part of the local

Volunteer Force The Volunteer Force was a citizen army of part-time rifle, artillery and engineer corps, created as a Social movement, popular movement throughout the British Empire in 1859. Originally highly autonomous, the units of volunteers became increa ...

, and at the age of 19, he was promoted to the rank

Lance-Corporal Lance corporal is a military rank, used by many English-speaking armed forces worldwide, and also by some police forces and other uniformed organisations. It is below the rank of corporal. Etymology The presumed origin of the rank of lance corp ...

. He also joined the

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland (CoS; ; ) is a Presbyterian denomination of Christianity that holds the status of the national church in Scotland. It is one of the country's largest, having 245,000 members in 2024 and 259,200 members in 2023. While mem ...

in that same year. Smith was commissioned into the Rifle Volunteers in 1877 and promoted to

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 ...

later the same year. He also became a Sunday School teacher. It was a combination of these two activities that led him to found the

on 4 October 1883 at Free Church Mission Hall, North Woodside Road,

. In 1909 he was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a 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. The concept of a knighthood ...

King Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria and ...

for his services to children. He reached the rank of Honorary Colonel in the Lanarkshire Rifle Volunteers. He died on 10 May 1914 in London. He was buried in Glasgow

Western Necropolis Western Necropolis is a cemetery complex in Glasgow, Scotland located to the north of the city centre. As well as the actual Western Necropolis cemetery established in 1882, it is bordered by Lambhill Cemetery which opened in 1881, St Kentigern's ...

. There is a memorial stone in honour of him in

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Paul the Apostle, is an Anglican cathedral in London, England, the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London in the Church of Engl ...

, London, and in

St Giles' Cathedral St Giles' Cathedral (), or the High Kirk of Edinburgh, is a parish church of the Church of Scotland in the Old Town, Edinburgh, Old Town of Edinburgh. The current building was begun in the 14th century and extended until the early 16th century; ...

, Edinburgh. There is also a Memorial Plaque in Glasgow Cathedral, it is at the Northwest corner of the Nave.

References

External links

The Development of Muscular Christianity in Victorian Britain and Beyond

Memorial stone at Saint Giles Cathedral, Edinburgh
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, William Alexander 1854 births 1914 deaths Cameronians officers Scottish Presbyterians Boys' Brigade People from Thurso Knights Bachelor