Major Arthur Algernon Dorrien-Smith (28 January 1876 – 30 May 1955) was Lord Proprietor of the Isles of Scilly from 1918 to 1920.

Family

Major Arthur Algernon Smith-Dorrien-Smith was born on 28 January 1876, in Oxfordshire, to Thomas Smith-Dorrien-Smith and Edith Anna Maria (' Tower). He married Eleanor Salvin Bowlby (died 13 April 1978), daughter of Edward Salvin Bowlby and Elizabeth Vans (''née'' Agnew), on 11 May 1909 at Holy Trinity Church, Sloane Street, London. There were four sons and three daughters from this marriage: * Captain Algernon Robert Augustus Dorrien-Smith (5 May 1910 – 20 May 1940, buried in Lapugnoy Military Cemetery, Pas de Calais, France) married Rosemarie Helen Lucas-Tooth * Anne Elizabeth Dorrien-Smith (4 July 1911), married

Claud Phillimore, 4th Baron Phillimore Claud Stephen Phillimore, 4th Baron Phillimore (15 January 1911 – 29 March 1994) was an English architect specialising in larger country houses who succeeded to his family's title in 1990. He was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he ...

Lieutenant-Commander Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding rank i ...

Thomas Mervyn Dorrien-Smith RN (12 May 1913 – 5 December 1973), married firstly Princess Tamar Bagration-Imeretinsky, secondly Margaret Claire "Peggy" Hugh-Jones * Innis Mary Dorrien-Smith (8 May 1916), married William Somers Llewellyn * Pilot Officer Lionel Roger Dorrien-Smith

RAF The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

(1918 – 20 May 1940, he has no known grave and is commemorated on panel 8 of the Runnymede Memorial in

Bayeux Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery The Bayeux War Cemetery is the largest Second World War cemetery of Commonwealth soldiers in France, located in Bayeux, Normandy. The cemetery contains 4,648 burials, mostly of the Invasion of Normandy. Opposite this cemetery stands the Bayeux ...

) * Major Francis Arthur Dorrien-Smith (26 August 1921 – 20 June 1944 buried in

) * Helen Dorrien-Smith (12 December 1932 - 26 October 2015)

Career

Memorial to Arthur Algernon Dorrien Smith

Dorrien-Smith was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, ...

. He was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Rifle Brigade on 4 May 1898, and promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

on 3 February 1900. On the outbreak of the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the South ...

, his battalion was sent to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

, and he was mentioned in dispatches, and received the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, ty ...

(DSO) for his services during the war. He was promoted to captain on 22 January 1902. Following the end of hostilities in June 1902, he left

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

for England and returned to

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

in early August. In 1904-5 he was an extra Aide-de-camp to

Henry Northcote, 1st Baron Northcote Henry Stafford Northcote, 1st Baron Northcote, (18 November 1846 – 29 September 1911) was a British Conservative politician who served as the third governor-general of Australia, in office from 1904 to 1908. He was previously the governor of B ...

, Governor-General of Australia, and retired in 1906, joining the Special Reserve. In the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

he was Major, 6th Battalion (Reserve) Rifle Brigade, 1914; Brigade Major 17th Infantry Brigade, 1914–17; On the Staff 59th Division and 8th Corps, 1917–18. On the death of his father in 1918, he succeeded as Lord Proprietor of the Isles of Scilly, a position he held until 1920 when the lease for the majority of the Isles of Scilly was handed back to the Duchy of Cornwall, Dorrien-Smith retaining control only over Tresco. He continued the work of his father and developed Tresco Abbey Gardens making many trips to South Africa looking for suitable trees and plants. He went on the

1907 Sub-Antarctic Islands Scientific Expedition The Sub-Antarctic Islands Scientific Expedition of 1907 was organised by the Philosophical Institute of Canterbury. The main aim of the expedition was to extend the magnetic survey of New Zealand by investigating Campbell Island and the Aucklan ...

, which had as its primary object magnetic observation in the Auckland and Campbell Islands. Following the expedition he travelled widely in New Zealand, as well as making a shorter visit to Australia. In 1909 he again visited Australia, New Zealand and the Chatham Islands, and had a total collection of plants and seeds of about 2280 specimens. He was awarded the

Victoria Medal of Honour The Victoria Medal of Honour (VMH) is awarded to British horticulturists resident in the United Kingdom whom the Royal Horticultural Society Council considers deserving of special honour by the Society. The award was established in 1897 "in per ...

by the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nor ...

in 1944. He was appointed a Justice of the Peace for Cornwall, and on 31 January 1938, Deputy Lieutenant for Cornwall.The London Gazette, 4 February 1938, p. 738. He was a

Fellow of the Linnean Society of London A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

Bibliography

* The southern islands expedition. Bulletin of Miscellaneous Information, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, 1908. 239–49. * An account of a trip to the Nelson District of New Zealand in January. 1908. Ibid. 441–44. * A botanizing expedition to West Australia in the spring (October), 1909. Journal of the Royal Horticultural Society 36: 1910, 285–93. * An attempt to introduce Olearia semidentata into the British Isles. Bulletin of Miscellaneous Information, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, 1910, 120–6.
Plants of Chatham Island
Journal of the Royal Horticultural Society 37, 1911, 57–64

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dorrien-Smith, Arthur 1876 births 1955 deaths People educated at Eton College Victoria Medal of Honour (Horticulture) recipients Fellows of the Linnean Society of London Rifle Brigade officers Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Deputy Lieutenants of Cornwall

Arthur Arthur is a common male given name of Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. Another theory, more wi ...

Dorrien and Smith-Dorrien family Lord Proprietors of the Isles of Scilly Leaseholders of Tresco Chairs of the Council of the Isles of Scilly