Mr. Smith and three other employees of British-American Tobacco Company left North Carolina for China in 1930, where he served as a tobacco buyer in the interior of China. He married Miss Hal Grimes in 1940 and she accompanied him back to China. With the outbreak of war with Japan in 1941, wives were evacuated but Mr. Smith was interned by the Japanese for some months before being exchanged in 1943. He returned to China in 1945 but was forced to flee when the Communist overran the country in 1949.
These interviews reflect the experiences of Mr. and Mrs. Smith. Commentary relates to tobacco interests and operations, the Chinese people, War Lords, Japanese invasion of China, and life in a Japanese prison.
Gift of Irwin S. Smith
Encoded by Apex Data Services
Literary rights to specific documents are retained by the authors or their descendants in accordance with U.S. copyright law.
1930-1949