Smith was born into a clerical family – his father was the Very Revd James Allan Smith, Dean of St David's Cathedral from 1904 until his death in 1918 He died in post during November 1918.– and educated at Repton and Hertford College, Oxford. Ordained priest in 1894 he was a curate at four parishes before securing his own incumbency at Colchester in 1902. By now married to Kathleen Dewe with a young family, he gained experience in Liverpool eventually becoming a Cathedral Canon. His finest hour, however, was the First World War where he gained the DSO for his sterling work at The Somme, Arras and Ypres. He had been appointed a Temporary Chaplain to the Forces in April, 1915, serving at first in Prescott before being posted abroad. He was also Mentioned in Despatches.