Port Elizabeth of Yore: Biography of HB Smith of No7 Castle Hill

Amongst the numerous residents of Port Elizabeth over the past two centuries such as Chase, Paterson and Korsten who deserve to be recognised for their deeds and works is one who is virtually unknown to all but a handful of people in Port Elizabeth, and that is Harold Bayldon Smith. Who you may ask is Harold and why does he deserve that recognition?

In writing the biography on the Rev. Francis McCleland, I came across the name HB Smith who owned No. 7 Castle Hill for a period of 24 years from 1938 to 1962. In doing so, he was unremarkable yet within the past month I have pealed away the layers of his life to reveal a civic minded man whose mission it became to save the oldest existing house in Port Elizabeth.       

In that quest he was successful, but it was a close-run thing as HB Smith would pass away two months after the final jigsaw pieces were in place. Both as a member of the McCleland clan and an ex-resident of Port Elizabeth, I decided to honour this remarkable man who rightly should be placed in the pantheon of honourable citizens whose foresight and actions deserve to be recalled.

Main picture: No. 7 Castle Hill

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