Among the familiar names which caught the eye on glancing down the column was that of Edmund Smith, who died in Raymond's Almshouses, having lived out life's little span of three score years and ten. Mr. Smith was one of the pioneers of musical culture, which has reached such a high state of perfection in the present day. He was a talented performer on the clarinet, the flute, and the piccolo, and in his early days was much sought after, playing in orchestras in London, and being engaged to supplement the Band Of The Guards at one of the parliamentary elections In Reading.
Mr. Smith was associated with members of the Godding family in the old Newbury Amateur Musical Society, and for many years ran a quadrille band of his own. Advancing years left him in the rapid march of musical progress, but up to within a few months of his death he could extract a good deal of music out of his flute and piccolo, and his solos were always a popular feature at the parochial entertainments at St John's Schoolroom.