Smith, Harold Morrey

Harold Morrey Smith was born in Toronto in 1897. His father was employed by the Bank of Toronto. His mother, with whom Harold had a close relationship, was apparently involved in the activities and social life of Trinity Methodist Church. His only sibling, a younger brother named Waldo, was later to become a minister of The United Church of Canada and a professor of church history. Harold attended the University of Toronto Schools before matriculating at Victoria College in the University of Toronto in 1914. During his first two years at Vic, he distinguished himself as a gifted student who not only won academic scholarships and prizes but also participated in activities such as the "Bob" and was elected "Senior Stick" (in absentia) by his classmates.

In the summer of 1916 Harold enlisted in the Canadian military and spent the next three years in training as a member of the Signal Corps. The first weeks from late June to early August of 1916 were spent at Rockcliffe Park in Ottawa. This was followed by more than two years at several locations in England, where he made friends within the military (including a close-knit group of Vic students) as well as among the townspeople he visited and members of the local Methodist churches he attended. He developed a particularly close friendship with a young woman in Eastbourne. During this period he found himself promoted to the rank of sergeant. In November of 1918 his unit moved to France, where he remained until the end of the war without seeing action in battle.

After returning to Canada in the summer of 1919, Harold re-entered Victoria College and graduated with a B.A. and a Gold Medal in Modern History in 1920. His professional career was devoted to practicing law in Toronto, which he did for almost fifty years until his death in 1972.