Arthur Britton Smith (May 13, 1920 – October 28, 2023) was a Canadian philanthropist, businessperson, historical writer, lawyer, and war veteran.

Early life

Arthur Britton Smith was born in

Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the northeastern end of Lake Ontario. It is at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River, the south end of the Rideau Canal. Kingston is near the Thousand Islands, ...

on May 13, 1920, the son of Cyril Middleton Smith, a lawyer, and Edna Madeline Smith (née Spooner). Both his parents were originally from Manitoba. He and three sisters were raised in Kingston (plus one who died as a toddler), growing up on Stuart Street and Kensington Avenue. He received his primary and secondary education at Victoria Public School and

Kingston Collegiate and Vocational Institute Kingston Collegiate and Vocational Institute (KCVI) was a secondary school in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1792 by Reverend John Stuart based upon a grant for secondary education in the colony of Upper Canada, it moved to its location at ...

Career

Military service

Smith first joined the army in 1935 when, as a 15-year-old schoolboy, he enlisted as a part-time reservist in the 32nd (Kingston) Field Battery, an artillery unit in the

Non-Permanent Active Militia The Non-Permanent Active Militia (NPAM) was the military reserve force of Canada from 1855 to 1940. It was composed of several dozen infantry battalions (redesignated as regiments in 1900) and cavalry regiments. After the withdrawal of British ...

. In 1938, aged 18, he became a cadet (#2652) at the

Royal Military College of Canada The Royal Military College of Canada (), abbreviated in English as RMC and in French as CMR, is a Military academy#Canada, military academy and, since 1959, a List of universities in Canada#Ontario, degree-granting university of the Canadian ...

(RMC), located in his hometown of Kingston. Upon completing the program at RMC in 1940, he was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Royal Canadian Artillery (RCA), a corps of the

Canadian Army The Canadian Army () is the command (military formation), command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also re ...

. World War II was underway and that same year Smith was sent overseas to the United Kingdom, posted to the 8th Field Regiment, RCA. Smith later recalled that, as a young professional soldier, he was "delighted to have the opportunity to fight the war." In 1942, he was promoted to the rank of captain and transferred to the 4th Field Regiment, RCA. In early July 1944, about a month after

D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during the Second World War. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

, Smith landed in

Normandy, France Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular Normandy (mostly the British Chann ...

, as part of the invasion follow-on forces. He was the commander of 'C' Troop, 14th Battery, 4th Field Regiment, RCA, which was part of the

2nd Canadian Infantry Division The 2nd Canadian Division, an infantry Division (military), division of the Canadian Army, was mobilized for war service on 1September 1939 at the outset of World War II. Adopting the designation of the 2nd Canadian Division, it was initially c ...

. His time in France was to be brief. Smith's unit went to the front lines on the night of July 11. On July 20, Smith was artillery Forward Observation Officer (FOO) with a company of the ''Fusiliers Mont-Royal'' (FMR), a French-Canadian infantry unit, during fierce and bloody fighting in the area of Verrières, just south of Caen (it was standard practise for the artillery troop commanders to act as FOOs—to in effect lead from the front). After the FMR initially took Troteval Farm, Smith was behind a wall speaking with another officer when a hand grenade was tossed from the other side and exploded in between the two officers. It was a German "egg" grenade; the grande left Smith with only some minor cuts. Smith asked a nearby Canadian tank to knock a hole through the wall, which he then rushed through looking for the enemy who had thrown the grenade. A German soldier, armed with a "Schmeisser" submachine gun, suddenly appeared and fired a short burst at Smith, with two bullets hitting Smith in the chest. Smith however was wearing body armour—plates of densely moulded plastic that shielded the most vital areas of his torso—which the Canadian Army had issued to infantrymen and forward artillery personnel who were going to Normandy. The bullets left two indentations in Smith's chest plate, each about an inch deep, but he suffered only bruising. During the remainder of that day and night and the following day, enemy armour and infantry (including elements of the

12th SS Panzer Division The SS Division Hitlerjugend or 12th SS Panzer Division "Hitlerjugend" () was a German armoured division of the Waffen-SS during World War II. The majority of its junior enlisted men were drawn from members of the Hitler Youth, while the senior ...

) mounted no fewer than four counter-attacks on the farm. To accurately direct the guns, he several times had to move to exposed positions in the face of heavy enemy fire. On one occasion, he and the few soldiers in his Observation Post killed several enemy troops who had gotten within 20 yards of their position. In a final German counter-attack on the farm, the FMR company—now critically low on ammunition—was overrun. Smith then withdrew under heavy fire and avoided being captured. Smith was later awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level until 1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) Other ranks (UK), other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth of ...

. A few days later, on July 24, 1944, another company from the FMR, under Major J.A. Dextraze, seized Troteval Farm and held it. On the morning of July 25, Smith was a FOO with the

Royal Hamilton Light Infantry The Royal Hamilton Light Infantry (Wentworth Regiment) (RHLI) is a Primary Reserve infantry regiment of the Canadian Army, based at John Weir Foote VC Armoury in Hamilton, Ontario. The RHLI is part of 31 Canadian Brigade Group, which is part of 4t ...

during an attack on Verriéres village. As he advanced through a grain field, in dim pre-dawn light, his

Universal Carrier The Universal Carrier, a development of the earlier Bren Gun Carrier from its light machine gun armament, was one of a family of light armoured tracked vehicles built by Vickers-Armstrongs and other companies. The first carriers – the Br ...

—a small, light-tracked armoured vehicle commonly called a "Bren gun carrier"—detonated a German anti-tank mine. Smith's driver was instantly killed. Despite a lining of sandbags in the bottom of the Carrier, Smith's right leg was badly shattered and he was thrown high into the air and out of the vehicle. At least four enemy machine guns began firing at the area where the flash of the exploding mine had been seen. Smith and his two signallers crawled away through the grain field, with machine gun bullets being shot all around. One of the bullets ricocheted off the ground and hit Smith in the side of his head, embedding itself behind his right ear. Smith was evacuated from the war zone and ultimately repatriated to Canada in November 1944. After spending several months in hospitals in France, the UK and Canada, Smith began a staff job at Kingston. In relatively short order, as a result of the lingering effects of his injuries, he was medically discharged from the army. Years later Smith speculated that he may be lucky to have been wounded, as the chances were high that he would have been killed had he remained in action. In addition to having won the

for gallantry, Smith received several service medals to recognize his war service: the

1939–1945 Star The 1939–1945 Star is a military campaign medal instituted by the United Kingdom on 8 July 1943 for award to British and Commonwealth forces for service in the Second World War. Two clasps were instituted to be worn on the medal ribbon, Battl ...

; the

France and Germany Star The France and Germany Star is a military campaign medal, instituted by the United Kingdom in May 1945 for award to Commonwealth of Nations, British Commonwealth forces who served in France, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands or Germany and a ...

; the Defence Medal; the

Canadian Volunteer Service Medal The Canadian Volunteer Service Medal is granted to persons of any rank in the Naval, Military or Air Forces of Canada who voluntarily served on Active Service from September 3, 1939, to March 1, 1947. The medal was established on October 22, 194 ...

with overseas bar; and the

War Medal 1939–1945 The War Medal 1939–1945 is a campaign medal which was instituted by the United Kingdom on 16 August 1945, for award to citizens of the British Commonwealth who had served full-time in the Armed Forces or the Merchant Navy for at least 28 days ...

. In 2014, the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Normandy, Smith's wartime service was further recognized when France awarded him its ''

ordre national de la Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

'' (National Order of the Legion of Honour). Following the war, in 1948, Smith joined an infantry reserve unit in Kingston, the

Princess of Wales' Own Regiment Princess is a title used by a female member of a regnant monarch's family or by a female ruler of a principality. The male equivalent is a prince (from Latin ''princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for t ...

(PWOR), in which he served as a company commander until 1954. He later served as the PWOR's Honorary Lieutenant-Colonel from 1968 to 1974, as the Honorary Colonel from 1974 to 1985 and again from 1992 to 1995.

Legal career

Following his service in World War II, Smith in 1945 began to work toward becoming a lawyer. In Ontario at that time, prospective lawyers went through a three-year

bar admission An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

process, involving "articling" (in effect, apprenticing) at a law firm while also taking some courses part-time at

Osgoode Hall Law School Osgoode Hall Law School, commonly shortened to Osgoode, is the law school of York University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is home to the Law Commission of Ontario, the ''Journal of Law and Social Policy'', and the ''Osgoode Hall Law Journal ...

in Toronto. Smith completed this process in 1948 and was admitted to Ontario's legal profession as a barrister and solicitor. Several years later, he was granted a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) degree; this degree was retroactively offered in 1991 to persons who had graduated from Osgoode Hall Law School in the years before it became a degree-granting institution. After becoming a lawyer in 1948, Smith established a law office in Kingston and practised for 50 years.

Real estate career

Early in his legal career, Smith began to dabble as a hobby in residential development and rentals. In 1954, Smith founded Homestead Land Holdings Limited, a land development, construction and residential rental company. Smith built Homestead into one of the largest residential rental companies in all of Canada, ultimately owning and marketing over 27,000 rental units in 16 cities across eastern, central and western Ontario and in Calgary, Alberta.

Historical writing

Smith produced two books and a journal article, all on historical subjects.

Community service and philanthropy

Smith had a recognized record of community service and philanthropy. The award of the Order of Ontario (2018) to Smith was in recognition of his community service, including his philanthropy. Similarly, community service and philanthropy figured prominently in Smith being made a Member of the Order of Canada in 2019. The citation for this award reads:

Throughout his lifetime, Britton Smith has demonstrated exemplary qualities of leadership and vision. A native of Kingston, Ontario, he practiced law before developing one of the most successful rental organizations in the country. Esteemed for his philanthropy, he has helped grow his community through generous donations from his eponymous foundation, benefiting the social, economic and cultural fabric of the city. A decorated Second World War soldier and recipient of the Military Cross, he is also a passionate local historian and has written extensively on HMS Ontario, a military brig lost in 1780.

Community service

Smith held a number of community appointments along with his work. The following is a partial list of Smith's volunteer and community service: * Honorary Colonel, The Princess of Wales’ Own Regiment, 1974–85 and 1992–95 *President of The Royal Military College Club of Canada, 1983–84 *Executive member of The Royal Military College Club of Canada, 1957–83 *Honorary Lieutenant-Colonel, The Princess of Wales' Own Regiment, 1968–74 *Chairman of Kingston's United Way charitable fundraising campaign, 1967 *Alderman (i.e. elected councillor) on Kingston City Council, serving for three terms, 1949–55

Philanthropy

Smith, personally as well as through his charitable foundation (the Britton Smith Foundation) and his closely held corporation (Homestead Land Holdings Limited), donated money to numerous charities and community projects. *A gift of $3.2 million was made to the Marine Museum of the Great Lakes in 2019 to enable it to purchase a site on the waterfront in downtown Kingston. *A $10,000 matching donation was made to the 2019 annual campaign of the Seniors Association Kingston Region. *A donation of $300,000 was made to Nanny Angel Network. *A gift of $4.5 million in 2018 to Hospice Kingston toward the building of a hospice residence and palliative care centre was made. *A gift of $5 million was made to the University Hospitals Kingston Foundation in 2018 toward building a new Providence Manor long-term care facility in Kingston. *A gift to the University Hospitals Kingston Foundation was made in 2018 to support the purchase of a robot-assisted surgical system for the Kingston Health Sciences Centre. * A gift in 2017–18 to fund, through the RMC Foundation, the purchase of 1400 "Universal Pattern" pith helmets for the Royal Military College of Canada and the Collège militaire royal de Saint-Jean, enabling the Colleges to return to the tradition of every cadet wearing such a helmet at full-dress ceremonial parades. * Donations totaling more than $1 million to the RMC Foundation to support activities beyond the mandate of the

Canadian Armed Forces The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; , FAC) are the unified Military, military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air commands referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army and the Royal Canadian Air Force. Under the ''National Defenc ...

at the Canadian Military Colleges. * A gift of $1.125 million was made to the Canadian National Institute for the Blind in 2017 to support various projects including work on the recreation hall at the CNIB's Lake Joseph Centre (an accessible camp in Muskoka, Ontario), the redevelopment of CNIB facilities in Kingston and Ottawa and new programs in eastern Ontario. * A gift of $700,000 in 2017 to support the Boys and Girls Club of Kingston & Area. * A gift of $10 million to Queen's University in 2014. Of this, $4.5 million was for the School of Nursing, $4.5 million for the Department of Surgery and $1 million for upgrading Richardson Stadium. * A gift of $3 million in 2016 to St. Lawrence College. * A gift of $1.2 million in 2016 through the United Way. * A gift of $3 million was made to the University Hospitals Kingston Foundation in 2015 toward the purchase of a second magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine for the

Kingston General Hospital The Kingston General Hospital (KGH) site is an acute-care teaching hospital affiliated with Queen's University located in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Along with the Hotel Dieu Hospital (HDH) site, these hospitals form Kingston Health Sciences ...

site of Kingston Health Sciences Centre. *A donation of $2 million in 2007 to the University Hospitals Kingston Foundation to support the redevelopment of Hotel Dieu Hospital, Kingston General Hospital and Providence Continuing Care Centre. * A gift of $200,000 in 2007 to the campaign to raise funds to build a civic sports and entertainment centre in Kingston. * He constructed, through his company, Homestead Land Holdings Limited, in 1979, a new entranceway to the grounds of the Royal Military College of Canada and donated much of the cost of the project.

Personal life

In 1944, a few days after arriving home from the war and while still recovering from his wounds, Smith married his fiancée of four years, Edith Burpee (“Sally”) Carruthers of Kingston. They raised three children: Sheila, Britton and Alexander. The couple was together for 68 years before Sally died of cancer in 2012. Over the years, Smith's hobbies and pastimes included boating, hunting, fishing, tennis, horseback riding, breeding Arabian horses, raising Aberdeen cattle, and collecting old books. Smith

turned 100 A centenarian is a person who has reached the age of 100. Because life expectancies at birth worldwide are well below 100, the term is invariably associated with longevity. The United Nations estimated that there were 316,600 living centenarian ...

in May 2020 and died in Kingston on October 28, 2023, at the age of 103.

List of honours and awards

Orders, decorations and medals

Member of the Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

(CM) (

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

), awarded to Smith for his leadership *

Order of Ontario The Order of Ontario is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of Ontario. Instituted in 1986 by Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, Lieutenant Governor Lincoln Alexander, on the Advice (constitutional), advice of the Executive Council ...

(OOnt) (2018), awarded to Smith for his community service *

(MC) (1944), for his action against the enemy *

* Defence Medal *

, with overseas bar *

125th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada Medal The 125th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada Medal () is a commemorative medal struck by the Royal Canadian Mint to commemorate the 125th anniversary of the Confederation of Canada and was awarded to Canadians who were deemed to have made ...

(1992) *

Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal () or The Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal was a commemorative medal created in 2012 to mark the 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's accession in 1952. There are four versions of the medal: one iss ...

(2012) *

Efficiency Medal The Efficiency Medal was instituted in 1930 for award to part-time warrant officers, non-commissioned officers and men after twelve years of efficient service on the active list of the Militia (United Kingdom), Militia or the Army Reserve (Unit ...

Canadian Forces' Decoration The Canadian Forces' Decoration (post-nominal letters "CD") is a Canadian award bestowed upon members of the Canadian Armed Forces who have completed twelve years of military service, with certain conditions. By convention, it is also given to t ...

(CD), with one clasp * '' Chevalier dans l'Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur'' (France) (2014)

Other honours and awards

Queen's Counsel A King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their Viceroy, viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarc ...

(QC) (Ontario) (1958) *

Honorary degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

Doctor of Laws A Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) is a doctoral degree in legal studies. The abbreviation LL.D. stands for ''Legum Doctor'', with the double “L” in the abbreviation referring to the early practice in the University of Cambridge to teach both canon law ...

(LL.D.),

(1989) *

(LL.D.), Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario (2009) *Wall of Honour, Royal Military College of Canada (2017) *Honorary President, Royal Military Colleges Club of Canada (2015). *Honorary Colonel's Commendation, The Princess of Wales' Regiment. *Lifetime Honorary Membership in the Royal Military Colleges Club of Canada (2009). *Honorary Patron of the United Way of Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox and Addington *Kingston Business Hall of Fame (2006) (inaugural inductee) *Jim Bennett Award, Queen's University Alumni Association (2003) *

Paul Harris Fellow Paul Percy Harris (April 19, 1868 – January 27, 1947) was a Chicago, Illinois-based attorney. He founded the club that became the humanitarian organisation Rotary International in 1905. Personal life Harris was born in Racine, Wisconsin, to ...

, Rotary Club of Kingston (1993) *Kingston Chamber of Commerce's Business Person of the Year (1990)

References

External links

H2652 Honorary Colonel Britton Smith, CM, MC, CD, LH, QC, LLD
Royal Military College of Canada. {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Arthur Britton 1920 births 2023 deaths Canadian Militia officers Canadian military personnel from Ontario Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery officers Canadian men centenarians Canadian Army personnel of World War II Businesspeople from Ontario Royal Military College of Canada alumni Lawyers in Ontario People from Kingston, Ontario Canadian philanthropists Knights of the Legion of Honour 20th-century King's Counsel Canadian King's Counsel Members of the Order of Canada Members of the Order of Ontario Canadian recipients of the Military Cross