Wednesday, November 28, 2018

Harry Leslie Smith 1923-2018



For about a week, along with hundreds of thousands of people all over the world, I have been keeping an online vigil for 95-year-old Harry Leslie Smith.

Harry had been battling pneumonia in a hospital in Belleville, Ontario.

He fought bravely, but early this morning that battle finally ended.



But what a life it was.



Elizabeth Renzetti wrote this tribute to him a few days before he died. 

He spoke about the unimaginable poverty of his childhood in northern England as if he’d just woken up that morning in the grotty miner’s hovel in Barnsley. He spoke about the beer cart he pulled as a child to make money, the hunger pangs that were never far away and the death of his sister Marion from tuberculosis at the age of 10. 

Marion died in a workhouse, where the poor were relegated at the ends of their lives. Her body was cast into an unmarked pauper’s grave, as Harry’s father’s would later be as well.

She wrote about how Harry spoke about the horrors of the past, and his fears that those horrors could return. 

What bothered Harry was that postwar ideals of equality and justice were falling apart. He told me, when I interviewed him for a second and third time, that he was worried that fascism was on the rise again, that the politics of austerity in Canada, the United States and Britain was stripping working people of their futures and dignity. 

He was anxious that young people didn’t see this calamity in front of them, although he’d tried to warn them in a book called Don’t Let My Past Be Your Future.

And in this excerpt from his book Harry's Last Stand, he reminded us of what life was like if you were poor and sick in pre-medicare or pre-NHS Britain. 



For the last 12 months of her life, Marion was totally dependent on my mother to be fed, bathed and clothed. In those days, there was no national health service; you either had the dosh to pay for your medicine or you did without. Your only hope for some medical care was the council poorhouse that accepted indigent patients.

Her last weeks were unbearable but she still fought death. She thrashed her arms about in defiance against the coming end to her life. My parents tried to calm her by stroking her hair or singing to her, but she wasn't pacified. Instead, Marion wept silent tears and continued to struggle with so much ferocity that in the end my dad reluctantly restrained her to her bed with a rope.


And he denounced the Tories for trying to dismantle the National Health Service.

Sometimes I try to think how I might explain to Marion how we built these beautiful structures in our society – which protected the poor, which kept them safe at work, healthy in their lives, supported them when they were down on their luck – only to watch them be destroyed within a few short generations. But I cannot find the words.

Like every one of these Con beasts will eventually try to do here...



Unless we rise up and tell them, no, not in our Canada.

I'm glad I was able to send Harry this message a few months before he died. 



Today I sent this message to his son:

Harry fought the fascists in the Second World War, and never stopped fighting them. What a sad loss, but what an inspiration for all of us.

And my message to the rest of us would be this one:

You are are never too old to fight the Cons and the fascists for justice and decency.

Harry went down fighting to the very end, like a hero, and now it's up to us...

12 comments:

Jackie Blue said...

Harry served his country and the human race as a shining example to us all. Cowards like Bone Spurs Trump and Schit-for-Brains Scheer don't get it and never will. We're all in this fight together and we can't lose sight of the horrors of the past as we move toward an uncertain future.

May he rest in peace and may he not have died in vain. Godspeed, Harry.

Anonymous said...

Nice Simon. It’s encouraging to see that a man like Harry received the acclaim he deserved at the end of his life. His description of what happened to his sister Marion affected me deeply, and made me weep. What a difference Medicare has made in the lives of us all, and we must never let the Conservatives damage or privatize it.

Anonymous said...

I’m 82, so Harry’s life was especially inspiring to me. Unfortunately a lot of older people become more conservative as they age, but Harry never did. Thank you for celebrating his life Simon, and for that lovely note you sent him.

Steve said...

His wisdom and life should not be ignored. But it is.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for this great post Simon. Until today I did not know who Harry was and now that I do I feel so much richer because of it. That's what richer means to me. Fulfillment, the feeling of joy from helping those less fortunate and standing up to those who would worsen their lot in life.
Harry will continue to be a beacon of hope and though he may not be here, his legacy will witness Trump's demise and those who rose because of him will suffer the same fate.
Rest in peace Harry.
JD

e.a.f. said...

Good post and thank you. This world needs more Harry Smiths

Simon said...

Hi Jackie...yes Harry was a good man and a good example for all progressives. And his contempt for people like Trump and Scheer was wonderful to be hold. I hope his bomber meets up with my grandfather's bomber so they can both do cartwheels in the sky...

Simon said...

Hi anon...thank you, I too was extremely moved by the story of what happened to his poor sister. Too bad the NHS didn't arrive soon enough to save her. The Cons in Britain have done the NHS so much damage, but when I needed it after my motorcycle accident two years ago, it was there for me, and the doctors and nurses were magnificent. Let's make sure the Cons in this country never get their hands on our precious Medicare system...

Simon said...

Hi anon....Thank you, as I said in my post Harry was a good example for people of all ages. But an especially good example for people of his age who might be tempted to become more conservative. At 82-years young you are also a great example to me and others. The world is in a terrible mess, but we still have time to build a better one and stop the Cons from destroying it...

Simon said...

Hi Steve...judging by the reaction to Harry's last battle I would be very encouraged by all the people he inspired. And those who would ignore a great old guy like Harry, are not worth worrying about...

Simon said...

Hi JD...Thank you for those inspiring words. I give thanks that I am a progressive and have people like you and Harry on my side. One Harry is worth a hundred Trumps, and his example will help power us to victory...

Simon said...

Hi e.a.f...Thank you. Harry was a great guy, and the world could do with a lot more like him. I'm just grateful that even in the twilight of his life he was able to inspire so many...