Linda Smith
President of the British Humanist Association
died on 27 February 2006

The British Humanist Association (BHA) has learned with great sadness of the death of our President, Linda Smith, who was not only a remarkable comedian and broadcaster, but also a great friend of Humanism. She had been President of the BHA since 2004.

When she first took on the role, Linda said, "The BHA's work is more important than ever – with fundamentalism of many kinds on the rise, the rational voice of humanism needs to be heard. I see publicising Humanism in order that other people might identify themselves not just negatively as atheists, but positively as humanists, as a vital part of my role. I'm looking forward to evangelizing – if that's the right word. The future is bright, the future is human!”

When the British Humanist Association’s trustees were discussing who should be invited to be the BHA’s next President and Linda Smith’s name came up, one of them commented that she would be “a brave choice”! Perhaps he envisaged the Radio 4 Just a Minute team attempting to talk about Humanism for one minute without hesitation, repetition or deviation, and it may be true that a comedian was not the most obvious choice, but the trustees were unanimous in approving Linda as the BHA’s President, and delighted when she accepted the role.

Humanists who had heard Linda talk about her beliefs on Devout Sceptics on Radio 4 not so long before shared their enthusiasm.

Hanne Stinson, Executive Director of the BHA said, “Linda Smith was one of the few comedians to make me laugh out loud, but when I met her to talk about the President’s role I was struck by how everything she said about her beliefs was completely in tune with the BHA’s position, and her commitment to supporting the BHA’s work was amazing.  Although Linda’s illness towards the end of her life meant that she could not give as much time to her role as she would have liked, Linda did great work for the British Humanist Association and for Humanism in her time as President, particularly in the publicity she obtained for the BHA’s campaign against faith and sectarian schools.”

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Souvenirs of Linda:

I’m a dyslexic Satanist. I worship the drivel

We know Jesus wasn’t English because he wore sandals – but never with socks.

Argos is home shopping plus a walk.

I don’t do the lottery, which means I am marginally less likely to win than someone who does.

Erith (her home town) isn’t twinned with anywhere, but it does have a suicide pact with Dagenham.

I play all my country and western music backwards – your lover returns, your dog comes back and you cease to be an alcoholic.

Hear Linda talk about her beliefs on Devout Sceptics (BBC radio programme) http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/programmes/devout_sceptics/

See also an article in The Independent on Linda Smith as a Humanist.

And her obituary in The Guardian