The Byway

From: Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gordon_A._Smith

He was born Gordon Appelbe Smith in East Brighton, England.[1][2] His father, William George Smith, was an amateur watercolourist. He took Gordon and his brother Donald on frequent visits to the National Gallery, London and to the Tate. He attended the Harrow County School for Boys where Gordon received four years of formal art training and several prizes for his art.[2] In 1933, Smith's parents separated. His mother Daisy Smith took the boys to live in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.[2]

In 1935, he studied at the Vancouver Normal School and Vancouver School of Art, then, from 1937 to 1940, he studied art at the Winnipeg School of Art.[3] In 1939, during his third year of art school, Smith enrolled in the Royal Winnipeg Rifles.[4] Before going overseas for war service, he took a vacation in Vancouver where he met and married Marion Fleming.[1] In 1942, he joined the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry. He was first a lieutenant, then a Platoon Commander and then the Intelligence Officer.[4] In 1943, he was badly injured while landing at the beach in Leon Forte, Sicily.[1][4][5]
See more on the Wikipedia website noted above.