[3] He went on to gain a first in Mechanical Engineering in an unusually short time, and stayed on as a postgraduate to study phase changes in iron, for which he was awarded the John Wimbolt prize.
[4] By 1931, Ewart Smith was Technical Director of ICI's chemical plant at Billingham, County Durham.
In the lead up to war, ICI had planned for the production of fuel and explosives, with which Ewart Smith assisted.
[5] During the war itself he served in the Government appointed role of Chief Engineer, & Superintendent of Armament Design (CEAD) for the Ministry of Supply at Fort Halstead, where he had a leading role in the design of PIAT, for armour piercing, which was the British equivalent to the American Bazooka in use into the 1950s.
His military science experience when reading intelligence reports led him in 1943 to predict the development and deployment of long range rockets by Germany.