SIR James was born in 1621 near Exeter, the youngest of six boys. His father was an MP and his grandfather was Mayor of Exeter. The time when Sir James was alive coincided with the Civil War and the beheading of King Charles I.

It was also the time when Galileo and Isaac Newton proved that the earth goes round the sun, and when London suffered the Great Fire. In other words, James Smith lived a long time ago — almost 400 years.

James made a name for himself during the Civil War when he joined the Royalist cause at the age of 22 years. A year later he was knighted for services to the crown. He became a Colonel in the cavalry until the Western army disbanded in Truro only three years after he joined.

Between the ages of 40 to 45, he served as Colonel in the Tangier Regiment responsible for protecting Tangier from the Arabs then later served in the Duke of Albemarle's regiment fighting the Dutch at sea.

It is not clear whether Sir James actually took part in these events abroad as he had many other duties and responsibilities in England. For example from the age of 39 until he died, Sir James was a Justice of the Peace for Cornwall and later also for Westminster.

For the full report, and a round-up of the area news and sport, see this week's edition of the Post.