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. Reardon Smith was buried in 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. Early in 1921, Reardon Smith launched an appeal amongst his fellow shipowners at Cardiff to fund the establishment, initially within Cardiff Technical College, of a department which would provide training for boys between the ages of 13 and 16 whose ambitions were set upon a career at sea. By the end of March 1921, he had collected the considerable sum of £18,000. As a result, on 3 October of that year, the Smith Junior Nautical School accepted its first cadets. 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 the museum's treasurer (1925–1928) and president (1928–1932). During his involvement with the museum, he transformed the museum's poor finances and oversaw the completion of museum's east wing in 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 donated approximately £50,000 to the museum. In addition to his personal donations, he also worked tirelessly to raise funds from elsewhere. Personal life Reardon Smith married Ellen Hamlyn (1857 – 9 August 1939), the daughter of Thomas Pickard