'We must never let the NHS free from our grasp': Harry Leslie Smith's powerful 2014 speech – video UK news Harry Leslie Smith, vocal critic of austerity, dies aged 95 Defender of social democracy lived through Great Depression but didn’t start writing until later in life Caroline Davies Wed 28 Nov 2018 09.03 GMT Share on Facebook

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Tributes have been paid to Harry Leslie Smith, the social justice activist and second world war veteran, who has died aged 95.

The Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, said Smith was “one of the giants whose shoulders we stand on”.

The Barnsley-born RAF veteran and campaigner, who lived through the Great Depression and who described himself as the “world’s oldest rebel”, died in hospital while visiting his son John in Ontario, Canada.

A regular contributor to the Guardian, Smith became an outspoken activist for the poor in his later years, fighting for the preservation of social democracy.

He was the author of several books about Britain during the depression, the second world war and postwar austerity, including Harry’s Last Stand, Love Among the Ruins and Don’t Let My Past Be Your Future.

He was prolific on Twitter, using the handle @harryslaststand to get his message out, and he won praise for his defence of the NHS and his support of junior doctors.

News of his death was announced on his Twitter account, which has more than 250,000 followers, on Wednesday morning. The tweet, posted by John Smith, said: “At 3.39 this morning, my dad Harry Leslie Smith died. I am an orphan. #istandwithharry”

Smith Sr devoted his last years to highlighting the plight of refugees, visiting camps in Europe. He wanted to “document this preventable tragedy”, he said. His Guardian video essay on the refugee crisis has been viewed more than 2m times.

The son of a coalminer, he grew up in poverty after his father became unemployed. His sister Marion died of tuberculosis. When he was seven, working as a barrow boy for a beer bottler in Bradford, Smith was supporting his entire family. The family moved frequently and he spent time sleeping in workhouses.

He joined the RAF, subsequently spending several years in Germany as part of the Allied occupation force. While there he met his future wife, Friede.

After he was demobilised he worked at several jobs in Yorkshire, before the couple emigrated to Canada in the 1950s, living first in Toronto and later in Belleville, Ontario. The couple had three sons, and Smith established a career in the oriental carpet trade.

After the death of his wife, Smith started to write. He attracted attention when he wrote in 2013 how he would not wear a Remembrance poppy in future because he felt that the symbol was being used to promote present-day conflicts.

Smith contributed to several publications and made a number of public appearances, including at the 2014 Labour party conference in Manchester where he spoke in support of the NHS. In 2015 he launched a Stand up for Progress national tour.

Harry Leslie Smith at his wedding to Friede.

Corbyn shared a video clip of Smith speaking about the importance of the NHS. “We will all miss Harry Leslie Smith – he was one of the giants whose shoulders we stand on,” Corbyn wrote. “A world war two veteran who dedicated his life to fighting for our National Health Service, a peaceful world and for countries to meet their moral responsibility by welcoming refugees.”

The deputy Labour leader, Tom Watson, tweeted: “Harry Leslie Smith will remain an inspiration to all in the Labour movement engaged in the fight for justice and fairness.”

The former Labour leader Ed Miliband paid tribute to Smith’s “passion, optimism and spirit.”

Explaining his mission to write, Smith once said: “In 2008 the world’s economies crashed. And the following year my middle son, Peter, died at the age of 50. By 2010 my grief was uncontrollable and I knew that only way I could expiate it was through writing about my early life – in a book and also on social media. I needed to let people know that the economic and political storms coming our way, I’d seen them before.”

Describing his motivation, he wrote: “I am one of the last few remaining voices left from a generation of men and women who built a better society for our children and grandchildren out of the horrors of the second world war, as well as the hunger of the Great Depression.

“Sadly, that world my generation helped build on a foundation of decency and fair play is being swept away by neoliberalism and the greed of the 1%, which has brought discord around the globe. Today, the western world stands at its most dangerous juncture since the 1930s.”