Alexander John ‘Sandy’ Smith was born on May 22 1912. He was the son of Alex Smith and Johanna Preshaw Smith . He was the brother of Gordon Smith, He worked as a truck driver for Smith and Henry in Summerland. Sandy Smith joined the Royal Canadian Air Force and received his training in Toronto, coastal station (Pacific and Atlantic) and in Penfield New Brunswick. The training lasted approximately one year. At the Atlantic station he trained with another Summerlander, L. Hickel.
Sandy became a member of the 97th Squadron Pathfinder group. His aircraft was a Lancaster (R569)Sandy was shot down 18 miles north of EssenGermany on the evening of March 12th 1943. He was buried at the ReichswaldForestWarCemetery in Kleve (Cheves) Germany. (Grave 17.B.5) This cemetery is the largest Commonwealth cemetery in Germany. The site contains the graves of 7,654 Commonwealth servicemen. A military funeral took place in Summerland at St Stephen’s Anglican Church. The local branch of the Legion paraded to the church led by Postmaster Hickey, a veteran of the first war. Members of the Legion were the pallbearers . They included Flight Lieutenant Croll, S.A. MacDonald, Charles Steuart, A. W. Nisbet, S.W. J. Feltham and G Forster.