AustLit

Vyvyan Smith was an unpublished writer of crime and adventure stories. His works were largely written in the 1930s and 1940s during which time he moved from Durban, South Africa to Melbourne and then to Sydney.

A collection of his manuscripts was discovered by Max Sollitt, and Sollitt subsequently undertook a series of investigations into Smith's life, trying to ascertain further details. With information garnered from the Australian War Memorial, Sollitt claims that Smith is the father of Acting Corporal John L. Smith who died in New Guinea during World War II.

The manuscripts reveal that Smith undertook a correspondence course in writing with the Hollywood-based Palmer Institute of Authorship.