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Sir Henry Abel Smith

London, 8 Mar 1900 – Winkfield, 24 Jan 1993

11 facts3 sources

Facts and their sources

  • Born8 Mar 1900, Londonnot verified1 source
  • MarriedLady May Abel Smithnot verified1 source
  • TitleHigh Sheriff of Nottinghamshire, 1886–1887or Governor of Queensland, 1958–1966not verified1 source
  • TitleGovernor of Queensland, 1958–1966or High Sheriff of Nottinghamshire, 1886–1887not verified1 source
  • Died24 Jan 1993, Winkfieldnot verified1 source
  • MotherMadeline Seymournot verified1 source
  • FatherFrancis Abel Smithnot verified1 source

A life in time

  1. 8 Mar 1900

    Born in London

  2. 1958–1966

    Governor of Queensland

  3. 24 Jan 1993

    Dies in Winkfield, aged 92

Family

See the tree

Parents

Partner

During his lifetime

He lived through 10 decades. Pick one to hear and see what it was like around London.

General history, not a record about the family: each item says where it comes from.

The 1900s · Sir is born in London

In the news1908

Old Age Pensions Introduced in 1908

In 1908, Parliament approved means-tested old age pensions of up to five shillings a week for people over 70.

Getting around

Horses ruled the early 1900s streets

Before World War One, horses dominated town streets, pulling everything from carriages and taxicabs to delivery carts and buses.

At the table

Buying Meat for Home Cooking

Because many working-class homes lacked ovens, families often bought 3/4 pound of leg of beef and 1/2 pound of beef suet for meat puddings or rissoles.

Powered flight. The Wright brothers flew a powered aeroplane at Kitty Hawk in 1903; in 1906 Santos-Dumont flew the 14-bis in Paris.Around the world · 1903–1906

Powered flight. The Wright brothers flew a powered aeroplane at Kitty Hawk in 1903; in 1906 Santos-Dumont flew the 14-bis in Paris.

Orville Wright and Wilbur Wright (credited as photographers) [1], [2] · public domain

What people wore

Working-class menswear habits

Working-class men often wore their father's old suits for manual labor, leading to common sights of mismatched coats and trousers.

Music

Pianos as status symbols in 1916

In 1916, a single gramophone cost as much as 200 music hall tickets, making it a luxury item, yet families often saved for years to purchase a piano as a symbol of respectability. By 1914, there were three million pianos in Britain, and in 1916 alone, 40,000 were sold.

Daily life

Lighting in the home was rarely electric

Most late-Victorian and Edwardian families lacked electricity and relied on gas, or in rural areas, oil lamps and homemade rushlights.