Robert Algernon Smith-Dorrien

Lieutenant Colonel Robert Algernon Smith-Dorrien (; 2 October 1814 – 8 October 1879) was a British churchwarden and soldier.

Biography

Robert Smith was born on 2 October 1814 to James Smith and Mary Isabella Pechell. He married Mary Anne Drever, a member of the Dorrien family, in 1845. He adopted his wife's maiden name and changed his surname by Royal Licence to Smith-Dorrien. Together they had 15 children, including Thomas Smith-Dorrien and Horace Smith-Dorrien.

He served as a Justice of the Peace. He was a lieutenant colonel, serving in the Hertfordshire Militia and also a captain in both the 3rd Light Dragoons and the 16th Lancers.

Smith-Dorrien was heavily involved in the restoration of the now Grade II* listed St Peter's Church in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, serving as the Churchwarden from 1868 until his death on 8 October 1879. Due to his work for the church building, a stained glass window by Charles Eamer Kempe was installed and dedicated in his honour, along with a plaque.

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