The death of Jeremy Smith in a climbing accident on Mont Blanc in the summer of 1959 will have been mourned by many, including glaciologists, geologists, and the mountaineering fraternity in various parts of the world.
He was educated at Bryanston School. After receiving his commission in the Royal Air Force he read for Honours at King’s College, London. He then went to the Macaulay Institute for Soil Science at Aberdeen. While there he took part in an expedition to Spitsbergen and in 1956 he was appointed by the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey to undertake a glaciological investigation in South Georgia on behalf of the Royal Society’s Committee for the International Geophysical Year.
Two years later he returned to England. The preliminary reports of his investigations were very well thought of and showed great capabilities. It was clear that his energy, initiative, drive and independence of outlook would have yielded valuable results.
Apart from the personal aspects it is sad that the life of so capable and determined a recruit to scientific study should have been eclipsed thus prematurely.
14 September 1959
