John Smith was an adventurer by nature and led an extraordinary life which took him on challenging expeditions to the Antarctic.

The 85-year-old, who died last Monday (May 6) from prostate cancer, was also a geography teacher, artist, potter and campaigner for better local health services.

His remarkable career and character will be highlighted in eulogies at his funeral at Barham crematorium at 4pm on Wednesday, May 22.

John came to live in Wingham in the early 1960s with his wife Frances, not long after he made two visits to the Antarctic as a meteorological observer.

The second in 1961 was to spend the winter at Fossil Bluff, the southern-most base of the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey.

The team suffered severe hardship when supplies ran low and they had to wait more than three months for help to arrive.

In total, he spent two-and-a-half years in the Antarctic and in 2011 was to become the president of the exclusive Antarctic Club, where he retained many close friendships with fellow pioneers.

But as younger brother Peter revealed, it was in John’s character to set himself challenges, especially in cold conditions, including sea swims and mountain climbing.

“He was an all-round athlete in his younger days, not in the competitive team sport arena but in terms of individual events and later set himself huge physical challenges, “ he said.

“Whenever he did something, he did it almost to extremes.

“One time my sister and I were holidaying with our aunt and uncle in Canterbury and John set off on his bicycle from London and met us in the city in the early morning.

“We cycled to Whitstable and John swam out half-a-mile and back and then we ran three miles along the shingle beach before cycling back to Canterbury with us.

“But then he rode back to London, all in one day.”

'He was always planning some adventure' - Peter Smith

Peter added: “On one occasion on Christmas Day he said, ‘I’m off’ and went to climb hills in Scotland in the snow.

“Another time, we hitched a lift to Fort William so we could climb Ben Nevis.

“He was always planning some adventure.

“He took me exploring and if we were cycling up a hill, I was the weedy one and I would feel this great hand in my back as he helped push me along.

“He was just an extraordinary individual and a lovely brother.”

John was one of four siblings and later taught geography and art at the former Chartham secondary school and pottery at Canterbury prison.

In his retirement, he became a dedicated campaigner for improving health services in east Kent and was a regular attender of hospital trust board meetings, where he was a familiar figure in his boater and held in high regard.

He went blind about 12 years ago. But while life inevitably became more difficult, he largely continued as if nothing had changed.

His wife, Frances, who was also a retired teacher, died just three months ago in a nursing home after being lovingly cared for by John.

The couple had three sons and a daughter, Catherine, who said: “He was an amazing father who took us all on adventures including up mountains.

“We also led a very eco-friendly life and he and our mother tended to a wonderful garden at our home in Wingham.”

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