Sir Arthur Smout (18 November 1888 – 21 February 1961) was first

Director-General A director general, general director or director-general (plural: ''directors general'', ''general directors'', ''directors-general'', ''director generals'' or ''director-generals'') is a senior executive officer, often the chief executive officer ...

of Small Arms Production for the

British Armed Forces The British Armed Forces are the unified military, military forces responsible for the defence of the United Kingdom, its British Overseas Territories, Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies. They also promote the UK's wider interests ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and later became Director-General of Ammunition Production at the

Ministry of Supply The Ministry of Supply (MoS) was a department of the UK government formed on 1 August 1939 by the Ministry of Supply Act 1939 ( 2 & 3 Geo. 6. c. 38) to co-ordinate the supply of equipment to all three British armed forces, headed by the Ministe ...

.Anon. Obituary of Sir Arthur John Griffiths Smout. Bulletin of the Institution of Mining and Metallurgy. October 1961, Vol. 71, 659, pp. 46-7.Jackson, H.E. Obituary of Sir Arthur Smout. Bulletin of the Institute of Metals. May 1961, Vol. 5, 21. Before the war Smout was

managing director A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

Imperial Chemical Industries Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) was a British Chemical industry, chemical company. It was, for much of its history, the largest manufacturer in Britain. Its headquarters were at Millbank in London. ICI was listed on the London Stock Exchange ...

metals group and later served on the company's

board of directors A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...

until 1953.

Early life

Arthur John Griffiths Smout was born in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

on 18 November 1888, the eldest of three brothers. He was educated at King Edward's School in Birmingham, and Birmingham Municipal Technical School. Smout started his career in 1905 as a student apprentice at Elliott’s Metal Co in Birmingham, while also studying part-time at

Birmingham University The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university in Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingham (founded in 1825 as ...

and gaining the full technological certificate of the

City and Guilds of London Institute The City and Guilds of London Institute is an educational organisation in the United Kingdom. Founded on 11 November 1878 by the City of London and 16 livery companies to develop a national system of technical education, the institute has be ...

in 1909. He worked in various analytical chemistry and

metallurgy Metallurgy is a domain of materials science and engineering that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their inter-metallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are known as alloys. Metallurgy encompasses both the ...

positions at Elliot’s and by 1920 he had become works manager of the various Elliot’s factories.Arthur John Griffiths Smout. Northern Mine Research Society. Online Cited: 22 September 2019.
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Business career

From 1924 to 1934 Smout was production director of Elliott’s Metal Co, which became part of

in 1928. He was appointed joint managing director of Imperial Chemical Industries metals group and then from 1936, chairman of I.C.I. Metals, Ltd which had factories in

Wolverhampton Wolverhampton ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands of England. Located around 12 miles (20 km) north of Birmingham, it forms the northwestern part of the West Midlands conurbation, with the towns of ...

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

and

Swansea Swansea ( ; ) is a coastal City status in the United Kingdom, city and the List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, second-largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of ...

. In 1944 he was appointed to the ICI main

board Board or Boards may refer to: Flat surface * Lumber, or other rigid material, milled or sawn flat ** Plank (wood) ** Cutting board ** Sounding board, of a musical instrument * Cardboard (paper product) * Paperboard * Fiberboard ** Hardboard, a ...

and remained as a Director until 1953. During his time with the company Smout was responsible for their ammunition and metal production. After retiring from

in 1953 Smout was appointed chairman of Murex Ltd., and Murex Welding Processes, Ltd.

Military service

During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

Smout’s application to join active service was refused and he was transferred to the

army reserve Army Reserve refers to a land-based military reserve force, including: *Army Reserve (Ireland) *Army Reserve (United Kingdom) *Australian Army Reserve *Canadian Army Reserve * New Zealand Army Reserve *United States Army Reserve *United States Navy ...

, as his work with Elliot’s was regarded as war work. According to his brother, Arthur invented a metallic

amalgam Amalgam most commonly refers to: * Amalgam (chemistry), mercury alloy * Amalgam (dentistry), material of silver tooth fillings ** Bonded amalgam, used in dentistry Amalgam may also refer to: * Amalgam Comics, a publisher * Amalgam Digital, an in ...

which was used in shells which shot down the first

Zeppelin A Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship named after the German inventor Ferdinand von Zeppelin () who pioneered rigid airship development at the beginning of the 20th century. Zeppelin's notions were first formulated in 1874Eckener 1938, pp. 155� ...

over

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

.Smout, C.F.V. Personal communication. 1971 Shortly after the outbreak of

, Smout hosted a visit by

King George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of In ...

to the ammunition production at the

site in Witton on 26 October 1939.Fraser, E. & Metcalf, J. A World of Engineering: The story of IMI 1862 - 2001. s.l. : Good Books, 2002. 0946555540. Smout was appointed first

of Small Arms Production for the

and then (in 1944) Director-General of

Ammunition Ammunition, also known as ammo, is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. The term includes both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines), and the component parts of oth ...

Production at the

. He received his

knighthood 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 ...

for his war time service in 1946 from

Post-War career

In 1948, Smout bought the 330 acre Sherriffs Lench Farm in

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Shropshire, Staffordshire, and the West Midlands (county), West ...

and farmed it (initially with his son Michael as manager) until his death in hospital in Birmingham on 21 February 1961, aged 72. His farm diaries and memoranda books for the period 1948 to 1961 are held in the

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engl ...

county archives.

Personal life

Smout was married to Annie Hilda Follows and they had five sons. His youngest son,

Christopher Smout Thomas Christopher Smout (born 19 December 1933) is a Scottish academic, historian, author and Historiographer Royal in Scotland. Early life One of the five sons of Arthur Smout, Christopher Smout was educated at The Leys School and Clare Col ...

, is a historian, and the current incumbent of the post of

Historiographer Royal Historiographer Royal is the title of an appointment as official chronicler or historian of a court or monarch. It was initially particularly associated with the French monarchy, where the post existed from at least the mid 15th century, but in the ...

. Another son, His Honour David Smout, QC, was an Official Referee. Arthur gave much of his time to the advancement of science and to public service, particularly in his native city of

, where he was President of the Birmingham branch of the

British Chamber of Commerce The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC, formerly known prior to 1996 as the Association of British Chambers of Commerce) is the national representative body of 53 chambers of commerce across the UK. The chambers represent 50,000 businesses, whi ...

, a Life Governor and member of the Council of

and a Justice of the Peace serving as a City Magistrate at 500 sittings from 1942 to 1961. He was also president of the

Institute of Metals The Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IOM3) is a British engineering institution with activities including promotion of the development of materials science. It has been a registered charity governed by a royal charter and a member ...

, a fellow of the

Royal Institute of Chemistry The Royal Institute of Chemistry was a British scientific organisation. Founded in 1877 as the Institute of Chemistry of Great Britain and Ireland (ICGBI), its role was to focus on qualifications and the professional status of chemists, and its ai ...

, a fellow of the

Institution of Metallurgists The Institution of Metallurgists was a British professional association for metallurgists, largely involved in the iron and steel industry. History It was founded in 1945. The inaugural meeting was held on 28 November 1945; the organization was fo ...

, and vice-president of the

Institution of Mining and Metallurgy The Institution of Mining and Metallurgy (IMM) was a British research institution, founded in 1892. Members of the Institution used the post-nominals MIMM. In 2002, it merged with The Institute of Materials (IOM) to form the Institute of Materials, ...

. He was awarded an

honorary doctorate 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 ...

from the

University of Wales The University of Wales () is a confederal university based in Cardiff, Wales. Founded by royal charter in 1893 as a federal university with three constituent colleges – Aberystwyth, Bangor and Cardiff – the university was the first universit ...

in 1954, in recognition of the work he had done for industry in the

area and his contribution to technological education.

Coat of arms

After his knighthood Arthur was awarded a

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

from the

College of Arms The College of Arms, or Heralds' College, is a royal corporation consisting of professional Officer of Arms, officers of arms, with jurisdiction over England, Wales, Northern Ireland and some Commonwealth realms. The heralds are appointed by the ...

. The Latin motto, "Non Sibi Sed Toti", means "Not For Self But For All". The five stars represent Arthur's five sons and the two pears represent Arthur and his wife. SmoutCoatofArms

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smout, Arthur 1888 births 1961 deaths