Dudley-Smith was born on 26 December 1926 in
Manchester, England, to Phyllis and Arthur Smith. His father was a schoolteacher in
Derbyshire who instilled in Dudley-Smith a love for poetry. Arthur fell ill and died when Dudley-Smith was eleven years old and shortly thereafter, he desired to be a minister. He was educated at
Tonbridge School before studying maths and then theology at
Pembroke College, Cambridge. ==Ministry==