In 1985 Antony Reardon Smith succeeded as chairman of the group. But the 1980s was once more a period of bust and the tonnage of British flag merchant ships was falling rapidly. The number of ships in the direct ownership of the Reardon Smith Line fell to just four, and this time the business collapsed.
Subsequently Reardon Smith held a number of appointments in the City, and in 2002 he began another career, as Clerk to the Worshipful Company of Fuellers, one of the more recent livery companies. He was saddened never to have returned to mainstream shipping, but the Fuellers provided him with the challenge of running a livery company, combined with the social life which he relished.
As clerk for 14 years, he helped to implement the Fuellers’ generous charitable policy, giving two-thirds of its income to education and research, its military affiliates, the RNLI, and causes linked to the energy industry. He also continued the tradition started by his great grandfather, who had benefited many institutions in Wales over the years, including the Reardon Smith Nautical College.
His Christian faith found expression through the Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem, of which he became a knight in 1997, a knight commander in 2002, and bailiff (2002-08).
Antony Reardon Smith married, in 1962, Sue Wight, who survives him with their three sons and a daughter; his son Nicolas “Nic” Reardon Smith, born in 1963, succeeds in the baronetcy.
Sir Antony Reardon Smith, Bt, born June 20 1937, died June 8 2022
