Social change advocate dies

Harry Leslie Smith, a prominent activist who established himself as a leading voice for social change during his later years, died early Wednesday. He was 95. “I am back home to our home and I (am) alone,” Smith’s son John tweeted from his father’s account. “It is 4:36 in the morning and I am wrapped in the blanket that covered him as he lay dying. And, I know exactly what my steps are. I will follow in his footsteps. I will endeavor to finish his projects.”

The England-born Smith (photo) was a well-known critic of austerity politics and an advocate of the National Health Service in the United Kingdom.

Born in 1923, Smith and his family endured poverty during his youth and lived through the Great Depression.

Smith served in World War II as a member of Britain’s Royal Air Force. Decades later, Smith garnered a following on social media, where he often shared his political and social viewpoints. He drew more than 250,000 followers on Twitter and began a podcast – titled “Harry’s Last Stand” – in 2017, when he was 94.

He was also a strong supporter of England’s Labor Party and electrified the audience at a 2014 conference for the organization where he advocated for the health service.

Smith spent much of his life in Canada, and he died in Ontario.