Henry Abel Smith

Colonel
Sir Henry Abel Smith
KCMG, KCVO, DSO
Henry Abel Smith and Lady May Cambridge
17th Governor of Queensland
In office
18 March 1958 – 18 March 1966
Monarch Queen Elizabeth II
Premier Sir Frank Nicklin
Preceded by Sir John Lavarack
Succeeded by Sir Alan Mansfield
Personal details
Born 8 March 1900
St George Hanover Square, London, England
Died 24 January 1993(1993-01-24) (aged 92)
Barton Lodge, Winkfield, Berkshire, England
Nationality British
Spouse(s)
Children Anne Liddell-Grainger
Richard Abel Smith
Elizabeth Wise
Awards Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George
Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order
Distinguished Service Order
Military service
Allegiance  United Kingdom
Service/branch  British Army
Years of service 1919–1950
Rank Colonel
Unit Royal Horse Guards
Commands 2nd Household Cavalry Regiment
Battles/wars World War II
Arms of Smith: Or, a chevron cotised sable between three demi-griffins couped of the last the two in chief respecting each other. These are the arms of Smith/Carington, Baron Carrington and of Smith, Baron Bicester, both descendants of the banker Abel Smith II (1717–1788)[1]

Colonel Sir Henry Abel Smith KCMG, KCVO, DSO (8 March 1900 – 24 January 1993) was a British Army officer who married a niece of King George V and Queen Mary and served as Governor of Queensland, Australia.

Origins

He was born in London on 8 March 1900, the eldest son of Lt-Col Francis Abel Smith (1861–1908), DL, of Wilford House, Nottinghamshire[2] and of Cole Orton Hall, Leicestershire,[3] and of Selsdon Park, a descendant of the prominent Smith banking family, by his wife Madeline St. Maur Seymour (1862–1951), a descendant of Edward Seymour, 8th Duke of Somerset.[4] His grandparents were Henry Abel Smith (1826–1890) and Elizabeth Mary Pym (1826–1877), a daughter of Francis Pym (1790–1860) and Lady Lucy Leslie-Meville (1796–1848), a daughter of Alexander Leslie-Melville, 9th Earl of Leven. His younger brother was Brigadier Sir Alexander Abel Smith (b.1904), whose second wife was Henriette Alice Cadogan (Lady Abel-Smith) (d.2005), Dame Commander, Royal Victorian Order, a descendant of the 4th Earl Cadogan, who between 1949 and 1987 served as a lady-in-waiting to Princess Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth II).[5]

Career

Abel Smith attended Eton College[6] and subsequently the Royal Military College, Sandhurst where on 17 December 1919 he was commissioned as a second lieutenant into the Royal Horse Guards.[7] Promoted on 17 December 1921 to lieutenant,[8] between 1928-30[9] he served as aide-de-camp (ADC) to Alexander Cambridge, 1st Earl of Athlone (1874-1957) (born Prince Alexander of Teck, Governor-General and Commander-in-Chief in South Africa), whose daughter he later married. He was promoted to captain on 1 February 1930 and major on 26 June 1934.[10]

He served in the Second World War, where from 1941 to 1945 he commanded the 2nd Household Cavalry Regiment, leading it throughout the entire North West Europe Campaign from June 1944 shortly after D-Day to Victory in Europe Day in May 1945. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order in February 1945.[11] In 1944 he was promoted to lieutenant colonel and in 1946 colonel.[12] He retired as a colonel in 1950. In 1953 he was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant of Berkshire.[13] On 18 March 1958 Sir Henry was appointed Governor of Queensland in Australia and served in that office until 18 March 1966. He was highly respected in the office of Governor. People lined the streets as a mark of high esteem to bid farewell to him and Lady May Abel Smith on their final day in office on their way to Brisbane Airport.

Marriage & progeny

On 24 October 1931, at St. Mary's Church, Balcombe, Sussex, he married Lady May Cambridge, the only surviving child of his former commander Alexander Cambridge, 1st Earl of Athlone (1874-1957) (born Prince Alexander of Teck). She was born Princess May of Teck, and was a niece of King George V and Queen Mary, and a great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria. By his wife he had three children:

  • Anne Mary Sibylla Abel Smith (born 28 July 1932); she married David Liddell-Grainger (26 January 1930 – 12 March 2007) on 14 December 1957; they were divorced in 1981 but have five children and eight grandchildren. Her eldest son is the Conservative Member of Parliament Ian Liddell-Grainger.
  • Colonel Richard Francis Abel Smith (11 October 1933 – 23 December 2004); he married Marcia Kendrew (born 27 March 1940) on 28 April 1960; they have one daughter and four grandchildren.
  • Elizabeth Alice Abel Smith (born 5 September 1936); she married Peter Wise (born 29 December 1929) on 29 April 1965; they divorced in 1975 and had one daughter who died as an infant.

Death & burial

Sir Henry died at home at Barton Lodge, Winkfield, Berkshire, on 24 January 1993 aged 92. His funeral service took place at St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle. His cremated remains were buried at the Royal Burial Ground, Frogmore. His wife survived him by only sixteen months.

Titles, styles, honours, and arms

Honours

Ribbon bars of Col. Sir Henry Abel Smith
Decorations

Ancestry

References

  1. ↑ Debrett's Peerage, 1968, p.223, Smith/Carington, Baron Carrington; p.145, Smith, Baron Bicester, both descendants of the banker Abel Smith II (1717–1788)
  2. ↑ Kelly's Directory, 1969, p.114
  3. ↑ Kelly's Directory, 1969, p.114
  4. ↑ The Peerage
  5. ↑ Kelly's Directory, 1969, p.114; Debrett's Peerage, 1968, p.204
  6. ↑ Kelly's Directory, 1969, p.114
  7. ↑ "No. 31754". The London Gazette (Supplement). 23 January 1920. p. 1085.
  8. ↑ "No. 32557page=10471". The London Gazette (Supplement). 22 December 1921.
  9. ↑ Kelly's Directory, 1969, p.114
  10. ↑ Kelly's Directory, 1969, p.114
  11. ↑ "No. 36917". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 January 1945. p. 678.
  12. ↑ Kelly's Directory, 1969, p.114
  13. ↑ Kelly's Directory, 1969, p.114
Government offices
Preceded by
Sir John Lavarack		 Governor of Queensland
1958–1966		 Succeeded by
Sir Alan Mansfield
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