Lieutenant-Colonel William Osborne Smith (1833 – May 11, 1887) served as the first Acting Commissioner of the North West Mounted Police, from September 25 to October 17, 1873.

Osborne Smith was born to W. H. Smith of Hendreowen (West Glamorgan), Wales. He was commissioned into the British Army

British Army

The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...

's 39th Foot in 1855. He served in the Crimea and came to Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 with his regiment in 1856. He married Janet Colquhoun of Montreal in 1858. When his unit was transferred to Bermuda in 1859, Osborne Smith, then a Lieutenant

Lieutenant

A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...

, sold his commission and became a merchant in Montreal. He later became a Lieutenant-Colonel in the Canadian Militia

Canadian Militia

The Canadian Militia was the traditional title for the land forces of Canada from before Confederation in 1867 to 1940 when it was renamed the Canadian Army.The Militia consisted of:* Permanent Active Militia* Non-Permanent Active Militia...

.

Osborne Smith carries the distinction of having the only regimental number that carries a fraction. His number was 2.5.

He returned to Wales and died in Swansea in 1887.