Mr Geoffrey D. Smithers (Mechanical Engineering 1957)

Provided by Mrs Bridgid Smithers/used in the Journal of the Royal Corps of Naval Constructors.

Geoffrey Donald Smithers RCNC (1936 - 2008)

Geoff Smithers joined the RCNC after graduating in engineering from Imperial College London in 1958.  After training in Devonport and Greenwich, and sea time with the Far East Fleet, his first posting was in Bath, where he met Brigid whom he married in 1963.   In 1966 Geoff and Brigid moved to Portsmouth Dockyard, where Jane and Victoria were born, thence to Singapore, where Dan was born.

Returning to Bath in 1970, Geoff worked in the Royal Dockyards Headquarters, being promoted to Chief Constructor in 1975. A move to Chatham Dockyard soon followed, where he became Personnel Manager. This was a tough assignment. The Government announced that Chatham Dockyard was to be closed in 1982 and Geoff played a large part in managing the successful and orderly run down of the industrial staff. His innovative approach and personal qualities were recognised as major contributors to keeping up morale at a difficult time. His run down programme was accepted by the Trades Union and enabled completion of the dockyard’s work, including the major refit of HMS Churchill. This despite the Falklands War in Spring 1982 which meant a lot of extra pressure on a workforce facing redundancy. 

In 1987, Geoff took up an unusual appointment for a naval architect, working for the Chief of the Strategic Systems Executive on the Polaris and Trident weapon systems, the only naval architect among a sea of electrical and weapon engineers.  His final appointment for 4 years up to his retirement in 1996 was as Assistant Director in DGSM (which became DGFS(S) after reorganisation).  Not only did he hold design and safety responsibility for all in-service submarines, but also, unlike other Assistant Directors, he was Programme Manager for completing the build of the new Trafalgar Class nuclear submarines.  Of this dual role, a colleague said, Geoff, as ever calm and collected, had twice the job but made half the fuss!

In addition to his professional duties, Geoff’s patience, persistence, wisdom and wry sense of humour were put to good use as Secretary of the RCNC staff association for some 4 years in the 1970s, a difficult time of reorganisations and mergers, with ministers and mandarins having little understanding of professional engineering ethics and standards.  In his last few years in the Ministry, he returned to the fray, becoming successively Vice Chairman then Chairman of the staff association.

Geoff’s outside interests included sailing and walking, and he was in rude health until the day he died after collapsing suddenly in his garden.  For his last 20 years he was closely involved with his church, All Saints, Weston, Bath, where he was preaching the day before he died.  Geoff was a highly capable and a very compassionate man of great integrity, bringing his dedication and strong Christian faith into his attitudes and relationships at work and during retirement.  He is greatly missed, not only by Brigid and by their son and daughters and grandchildren, but also by his many friends and colleagues.

[Abridged from a eulogy compiled by Charles Betts using contributions from Geoff’s former colleagues]