Honourable Margaret Bertha Meriel Smith

THE last member of the Ward family to be born in the historic Castle Ward house near Strangford has died.

The Honourable Margaret Bertha Meriel Smith, died peacefully on September 19 at her home in London, just 10 days short of her 99th birthday.

She was the widow of Major Dennis Eric Smith and mother of Sylvia and the late Patrick Forde who lived at Seaforde. Margaret was the grandmother of Emily, Mathew, Charles and Finnian and seven great-grandchildren. Her funeral service was held at Putney Vale Crematorium last Wednesday, October 2.

She was born in her mother’s bedroom which was situated on the top floor of the Gothic side of house at Castle Ward, overlooking Strangford Lough.

Born Margaret Bertha Meriel Ward, she was the youngest daughter of Maxwell Richard Crosbie Ward, 6th Viscount Bangor and his wife Agnes Elizabeth Hamilton. She was also the grand-daughter of famous amateur scientist, Mary Ward (nee King).

Margaret was the youngest of four children. Her brother Edward and sisters Mary and Helen were born in 1905, 1909 and 1912 respectively.

One of Margaret’s very earliest recollections of her childhood at Castle Ward was of the vast bonfire built by the estate workers on the Deer Park Hill to celebrate the end of the Great War in November 1918. It was a poignant time for the family given that her mother’s only brother, Captain Mervyn Hamilton, had been killed at Ypres, a few weeks after Margaret was born.

She grew up at Castle Ward with her brother and two sisters and was educated at home throughout her school years by a governess until she was 18. She was presented at Court in 1932 and spent much of her younger years racing sailing boats on Strangford Lough with her father, Lord Bangor.

In particular, they would race their River class boat, Strule, against other River owners on the Lough. In 1933, both Margaret and her father sailed to Finland on board the Hertzinger Cecilie, a famous three mast barque grain racer, then the fastest merchant sailing ship in the world.

In 1944, Margaret and her sisters Mary and Helen, volunteered to work for the army canteen corps and they followed the troops into France after D-Day and eventually into Germany.

Her father served as Speaker of the Senate in Belfast (Stormont) from 1930 until 1950, while her brother Edward Ward was a famous BBC war reporter and newsreader. Castle Ward became a National Trust property in 1952 after the death of her father.

Margaret married three times. Her first marriage was to Desmond Charles Forde of Seaforde in January 1938, with whom she had a daughter Sylvia in November 1938 and a son, Patrick, in December 1940. They were her only children.

The marriage dissolved in 1947 and Margaret subsequently married Gavin Robert Sligh in the same year. Her marriage to Mr. Sligh dissolved in 1962 and she married thirdly and lastly, Major Dennis Eric Smith in 1969, with whom she lived in Cap D’Ail, in the South of France. Following his death in 1974, she returned to live in England.

In later years, Margaret lived in London but would return to France almost every year to stay with friends. In fact, she continued to drive herself to the South of France until she was well into her late 80s and was still driving her car in London in her 96th year.

Over the years, Margaret would also be a frequent visitor to her family in Seaforde to visit her son Patrick and her grandchildren. She would also keep in regular touch with people associated with Castle Ward during the years that she lived there.