Philip SPENCER SMITH (1882-1955)

Philip Spencer Smith (1882-1955), together with two of his brothers, was a pupil at Christ College, Brecon, from 1895-1901, at the same time as some of the Sladden sons.  There was a Spencer Smith in the Hostel at Brecon in every year between 1893 and 1909, in the same way that there was a Sladden in Christ College for almost exactly the same period.

Philip Spencer Smith was born in Balham, Surrey, in 1882, the second of six children of Charles Spencer Smith,  described in the census as “Clerk and Receiver of Endowed Schools Westminster”, and his wife, Charlotte.  In 1891 they were living at 15 Cheriton Place, Folkestone.

Philip was educated at Christ College, Brecon.  At the time of the 1901 census, Philip Spencer Smith and Arthur Sladden were the first pupils listed for The Hostel at Christ College, being the two eldest.

After leaving Brecon, Philip became a student at Cambridge where he met Arthur Sladden for lunch.  In 1911 he was a schoolmaster at Giggleswick School, Yorkshire.

During World War I, Philip volunteered for service with the 16th London Regiment and first went overseas in October 1915.  Out of four boys in the family, Philip was the only brother to survive the war.

He married Ethel Rachel Greenhill in 1927 in Hampstead.

Philip was living in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, when he died on 12th September 1955.  His ashes were interred in the family grave in Lingfield, Surrey.