Colonel Arthur Britton Smith (born May 13, 1920) is a Canadian philanthropist, businessperson, historical writer, retired lawyer and war veteran. Early life Smith was born in Kingston, Ontario on May 13, 1920, the son of Cyril Middleton Smith, a lawyer, and Edna Madeline Smith (née Spooner). Both his parents were originally from Manitoba. He and three sisters were raised in Kingston (plus one who died tragically as a toddler), growing up on Stuart Street and Kensington Avenue. He received his primary and secondary education at Victoria Public School and Kingston Collegiate and Vocational Institute. Career Military service Smith first joined the army in 1935 when, as a 15-year-old school boy, he enlisted as a part-time reservist in the 32nd (Kingston) Field Battery, an artillery unit in the Non-Permanent Active Militia. In 1938, aged 18, he became a cadet (#2652) at the Royal Military College of Canada (RMC), located in his hometown of Kingston. Upon completing the program at RMC in 1940, he was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Royal Canadian Artillery (RCA), a corps of the Canadian Army. World War II was underway and that same year Smith was sent overseas to the United Kingdom, posted to the 8th Field Regiment, RCA. Smith later recalled that, as a young professional soldier, he was "delighted to have the opportunity to fight the war." In 1942, he was promoted to the rank of captain and transferred to the 4th Field Regiment, RCA. In early July 1944, about a month after D-Day, Smith landed in Normandy, France, as part of the invasion follow-on forces. He was the commander of 'C' Troop, 14th Battery, 4th Field Regiment, RCA, which was part of the 2nd Canadian Infantry Division. His time in France was to be brief, but eventful. Smith's unit went into the front lines on the night of July 11. On July 20, Smith was artillery Forward Observation Officer (FOO) with a company of the Fusiliers Mont-Royal (FMR), a French-Canadian infantry unit, during fierce and bloody fighting in the area of Verrières, just south of Caen. (It was a standard practise for the artillery troop commanders to act as FOOs – to in effect lead from the front.) Smith was lucky to survive. After the FMR initially took Troteval Farm, Smith was behind a wall speaking with another officer, when a hand grenade was tossed from the other side and exploded in between