Rectory Lane Cemetery, Berkhamsted

Rear Admiral Arthur Hale Smith-Dorrien 1856-1933 was born at Haresfoot, the son of Col. Robert Algernon Smith-Dorrien and Mary Anne Drever. In 1870 he enlisted as a cadet in the Royal Navy on the Britannia. From 1872 he served as a midshipman in the Volage and the Sultan. He became a sub-lieutenant in December 1875 and served in the Shah flagship during the engagement with the Peruvian rebel ship Huascar. While still a sub-lieutenant he landed with the Naval Brigade in Zululand in May 1877 and is mentioned in despatches in 1879. He took part in operations of the Egyptian War of 1889-93. He was promoted to Captain in 1900, retired in 1904 and was promoted to Rear-Admiral on the retired list in 1909. On retiring he returned to Berkhamsted and lived with his unmarried sister, Beatrice, at New Lodge. He was active in local affairs, arranged garden parties to raise money for charity, defended the reputation of his brother General Sir Horace Smith-Dorrien and was an avid supporter of the British Legion. In June 1933 he was found dead by the railway line near his home apparently having been struck by a passing train, which he may not have heard because he had become quite deaf.