Guy Stretton Smith, who was born on 23 July 1916, was the son of George Frederick Stretton-Smith (an Engineer) and his wife, Ada Blanche Stretton-Smith of 41, Leeside Crescent, Haslemere. He was baptised in the Church of St Barnabas in Haslemere on 3 September 1916. In the 1939 Register (compiled in September 1939) Guy was listed as a photographic technician living at home with his parents and a younger brother - at Venture, Holdfast Lane, Haslemere, Surrey.

He joined the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (London Division) as a Temporary Midshipman and was appointed to the Minesweeper HMS BANGOR on 1 November 1939. He was promoted to Temporary Sub Lieutenant, RNVR on 18 December 1939 and to Temporary Lieutenant RNVR on 23 April 1941.

On 22 May 1942 Guy Stretton-Smith was appointed to HMS DOLPHIN ‘for M/Ls and Miscellaneous duties’. A volunteer for ‘Special Service’ he trained as a Charioteer. In his training as a Chariot No. 1 Crewman he was teamed up with Leading Seaman Rickwood as his No. 2 Crewman. During a training attack on the battleship HMS HOWE his compass failed and he attempted to reach his target by following the coastline. However they encountered a patch of fresh water and ended up on the bottom at some seventy feet depth. Guy Stretton-Smith abandoned the attack and returned safely to the surface and to the Depot Ship.

He was allocated to a team of charioteers formed for an operation to attack Italian shipping at the port of La Maddelena. The team was embarked in HMS P311 for the operation with three chariots - Nos. X, XVIII & one other. P311 had completed the passage through the Sicilian Channel - reported at 0130 on 31 December 1942 - but no further reports were received from the submarine and P311 was presumed lost with all hands in a minefield near La Maddelena on or about 2 January 1943. Also lost were the three chariots, the three chariot crews and the team of four dressers – ten personnel in all. The date of the loss of P311, her crew and her chariot passengers was assumed to have been 8 January 1943 which is the date that the submarine was due to arrive back at Malta.