William Reardon Smith

Descended from Irish seafaring stock, he was born at Appledore, Devon, the youngest son of Thomas Reardon Smith, a merchant navy captain, and his wife Elizabeth (née Green). After her husband and eldest son Philip Green Smith were lost at sea when the schooner Hazard sank off the coast of South Wales in October 1859, his mother was forced to bring up her surviving eight children by herself on her income as a dressmaker. Reardon Smith was educated at the Wesleyan day school in Appledore. ==Sea service==

Reardon Smith went to sea at the age of 12, joining the crew of the 32-ton wooden sloop Unity as a cabin boy and served from August to December 1870. He then transferred to the 37-ton sloop Seraphina in Spring 1871, the 38-ton polacca brigantine Joe Abraham, from July to December 1871, the 965-ton Ocean Pearl, from February to July 1872, and the 460-ton Scout. Service on other ships followed during which he gained experience in the coastal trades of the Bristol Channel as well as carrying railway lines to the US and copper ore from Chile. He climbed steadily through the ranks, reaching second mate by the age of 20 (after passing his examination on 11 August 1876) and then later became first mate of the barque May owned by Glasgow-based H. Hogarth & Sons in 1878. He remained with Hogarth for eighteen years, passing his Master Mariner's examination in Plymouth on 6 June 1879 and being sufficiently trusted by Hugh Hogarth to superintend the building of three of his ships. For his last four years at sea, Reardon Smith forsook Hogarth for the Cardiff-based Anning Brothers who had Devon connections and lastly William J. Tatem, who was born at Appledore. Among the sailing and steamships he commanded were the Baron Douglas (June 1890 to April 1892), Baron Elibank (June 1890 to April 1892), Baron Belhaven (November 1894 to October 1896), Starcross (November 1896 to July 1897), Lady Lewis (July 1897 to April 1899, February to December 1900)) and Shandon (June 1899 to February 1900). ==Relocation to Cardiff==

Reardon Smith came ashore in December 1900 and joined his wife Ellen (née Hamlyn), who had recently relocated the family from Devon to Cardiff. W. R. Smith & Son operated from 1905 to 1909 before being succeeded by W. R. Smith & Sons between 1909 and 1922, and then finally Sir W. R. Smith & Sons Ltd from 1923 onwards. Reardon Smith followed the common practice of the time in Cardiff of expanding his fleet by floating separate public companies in which his privately owned W. R. Smith would take a share. This allowed him to tap new sources of capital while also reducing the liability. The first such company was the Instow Steamship Co Ltd, formed in 1905 with a proposed capital of £32,800. The company's first ship was City of Cardiff built by Ropner & Son at Stockton-on-Tees. Despite a large mortgage from the shipbuilder, Reardon Smith struggled to raise sufficient capital to pay for her. However, after the Holman family from Topsham in Devon showed their faith in him by buying a large number of shares the remainder were soon taken up. Instow's second vessel, the Leeds City was a trunk deck ship delivered in 1908 also by Ropner & Son. In August 1909, Reardon Smith ordered the Bradford City from Ropner & Son. To pay for her, he floated the Bradford Steamship Co Ltd in 1910 with a nominal capital of £33,250. The company's name and that of the later Leeds Shipping Co Ltd was in reference to the many investors that he had signed up for his previous public company and hoped to continue to attract from Yorkshire. the venture was well supported. As the name Cornish City had already been bestowed on a second-hand purchase, the company's first ship was called Devon City. The company was later renamed the Reardon Smith Line in 1928 with a capital of £1,232,000. In 1913, Reardon Smith established the Great City Steamship Co Ltd with capital of £60,000, which was subsequently amalgamated with the St Just Steamship Company in 1917 and wound up. Reardon Smith's companies prospered, and by the outbreak of the First World War he owned nine tramp steamers, divided among five companies, with all engaged in the exporting of coal from south Wales. ==First World War==

In 1916, the Instow Steamship Co Ltd was merged with the St Just Steamship Co Ltd in 1916 and the name was disestablished. it was wound up in 1918. ==Post-WWI==

Reardon Smith's wartime losses were initially replaced in 1919 when seven ships were acquired from the Swansea-based Letricheux & David Co. and then in 1920–21 by nine German vessels surrendered as War reparations which were purchased for £468,000. Immediately following the end of the War, there was a perceived shortage of ships due to wartime losses, whereas in reality, the total tonnage of the British merchant fleet in 1919 was only 700,000 gross tons less than it had been in 1913, while the worldwide merchant fleet had actually increased. Many ships were still operating on government wartime contracts far from their normal commercial trading routes, reducing the number available to service mercantile trade. From March 1919, the government began deregulating the shipping markets as it released ships from its service. In May 1919, HMG lowered the excess profit duty from 80 to 40 per cent. These factors in combination with post-war optimism lead to vastly inflated ship values to create a boom which lasted until the late spring of 1920. In June 1923, Reardon Smith established Reardon Smith (Union of South Africa) Ltd with capital of £250,000. In 1926, he was a founding member of the Honourable Company of Master Mariners. In the late 1920s, in response to the continued deterioration in maritime trade, Reardon Smith began to reduce the size of his fleet, with seventeen of the older ships eventually being sold. He did, however, purchase some replacements including four motor ships. The Reardon Smith Line started a regular service from Great Britain to the West Coast of the United States. To reduce costs, the downturn gave a stimulus to innovation, and in particular to use of the marine diesel engine. Despite British tramp owners being notoriously distrustful of foreign-designed machinery, Reardon Smith eventually ordered two motor ships and had delivered in 1928 the East Lynn from William Doxford and the West Lynn from Napier & Miller. While the former had four-cylinder Doxford engines, the latter had six-cylinder engines from Harland & Wolff/Burmeister & Wain. While both vessels gave very satisfactory service, the Doxford engines proved to be superior, leading to the building of seven more Doxford diesel-engined motor ships before the outbreak of the Second World War. In 1928, Reardon Smith established a pension fund for his seagoing staff employees and later extended it to cover all employees. Reardon Smith died peacefully in his eightieth year after a short illness on the evening of 23 December 1935 at his home, Cornborough in Cardiff, surrounded by his family. In his will he left over £200,000. By the time of Reardon Smith's death in 1935, his various business interests owned twenty-eight ships. In addition to his direct business interests, Reardon Smith had also served at various times on the boards of numerous maritime related organisations and businesses. Sir William was buried at Cathays Cemetery in Cardiff. ==Philanthropy==

Reardon Smith had a great sentimental attachment to his birthplace of Appledore. Up until the Second World War, all of the working boats and lifeboats for the company's new ships were built by long-established Appledore boat builders. Once finished, the boats were rowed on the flood tide up the River Torridge to Bideford and then taken from the water and transported by rail to the shipyard constructing the new ship. In the latter part of his life, Reardon Smith gave generously to hospitals in Bideford and Cardiff. Other donations were made to the Exeter University and the National Library of Wales. Four years later, he acquired a large yacht, the Margherita, which after being given a three-mast rig and two diesel engines served as both a family yacht and a cadet training vessel. Having served on sailing vessels, Reardon Smith believed that pre-sea training under sail was beneficial for cadets. The Wall Street crash of 1929 and subsequent Great Depression meant the Margherita was sold in 1932. Reardon Smith was a major benefactor to the National Museum of Wales and served as its Treasurer (1925–1928) and President (1928–1932). During his involvement with Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales, Sir William transformed the museum's poor finances and oversaw the completion of its east wing at Cardiff. As a result, the east wing's new lecture theatre was named the Reardon Smith Lecture Theatre in his honour in 1932. Between 1915 and 1935, he and his wife Ellen (Lady Smith) donated approximately £50,000 to AC-NMW. In addition to his personal donations, Sir William also worked tirelessly to raise funds from elsewhere. ==Personal life==

On 16 May 1880, Reardon Smith married Ellen Hamlyn. They had six children: Lillian "Lily" Nellie Smith, Gertrude "Gertie" Smith, Elizabeth Hamlyn Smith, Grace Hamlyn Smith, Sir Willie Reardon-Smith (26 May 1887 – 24 November 1950) and Douglas Reardon Smith (10 April 1894 – 6 June 1961) ==Honours==

In recognition of his philanthropy, Reardon Smith was awarded the Honorary Freedom of the City of Cardiff in 1928. Although, at the time, Lloyd George was selling baronetcies for £15,000 and Cardiff had the reputation of being the "city of dreadful knights", there is no conclusive evidence that Reardon Smith paid for his title. He was succeeded in the baronetcy by his elder son, Willie. In 1932, Reardon Smith was admitted as a Freeman of the City of London, becoming a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Shipwrights. ==Legacy==

There is a bust of Sir William Reardon Smith by Sir Goscombe John at Cardiff City Hall. ==Footnotes==