 The son of Dixon and Alice Winifred Smith, Dixon-Smith was educated at Oundle School, at the St. Johnsbury Academy in Vermont, and Writtle Agricultural College in Essex.He served in the King's Dragoon Guards in the years 1956 and 1957, serving as a Second Lieutenant.From 1967 to 1994, Dixon-Smith was Governor of the Writtle Agricultural College, from 1973 to 1985 chair.