Alfred John Smith - 1843-1920 (Lord Mayor 1905-1907)

Alfred John Smith was born in Bedminster in 1843.  He was a ship owner, coal merchant, contractor for freight in Bristol & Newport and he also had a business in Bradford on Avon.  He was director of the Newport Coal and Coke Company Ltd., founded  by his father (John Smith) around 1860.   

He lived at Highgrove in Totterdown and from 1872 he devoted a great deal of time to education and religious work (he was superintendent of Oxford Street Sunday School for around 30 years).  When he was 55 he became a city councillor in 1898 and served as Lord Mayor for two consecutive terms from 1905/6 - 1906/7.

He died on 12th March 1920 at the age of 77 and his memorial (pictured above) is in Arnos Vale Cemetery