In World War I Smith served with distinction as a Second Lieutenant (later Captain) in the 1/8th (Leeds Rifles) Battalion West Yorkshire Regiment.
"[1] Smith wrote poetry, and a collection of his work, entitled "The Great Sacrifice, and other poems" was published by Erskine MacDonald Ltd in 1917.
His wife had a unique role in St Michael's history: in 1927 an unusually well attended annual vestry meeting was held where the vexed question was to be raised, as to whether ladies were eligible for election to the church council.
The motion was then defeated but, three years later, Mary Smith, the wife of the rector, became the first woman member, "since when many have served with great advantage to the parish.
[5] Mary Smith was well known in Kimberley for her stage appearances in David Sanders' Boys' High School Players productions, and for her role in the musical life of the city, playing viola in the Kimberley Concert Orchestra under Tommy Marnitz and in an active chamber music group.