# Edward Keeling > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Edward_Keeling > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Edward_Keeling.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Keeling > Source revision: 1342974784 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) **Sir Edward Herbert Keeling**, [MC](/source/Military_Cross) (1883[1] – 23 November 1954) was a [Conservative Party](/source/Conservative_Party_(UK)) politician in the United Kingdom who served as a [Member of Parliament](/source/Member_of_Parliament_(United_Kingdom)) (MP) from 1935 to 1954. The younger son of the Reverend [William Hulton Keeling](/source/William_Hulton_Keeling), headmaster of [Bradford Grammar School](/source/Bradford_Grammar_School),[2] he was educated at Bradford and [University College, Oxford](/source/University_College,_Oxford), graduating with a master's degree in [jurisprudence](/source/Jurisprudence).[3] He was [called to the bar](/source/Call_to_the_bar) at [Lincoln's Inn](/source/Lincoln's_Inn).[4] In 1902 he received employment in the Supply and Accounting Department of the [Admiralty](/source/British_Admiralty).[5] His siblings include the social activist [Dorothy Keeling](/source/Dorothy_Keeling) and the Canadian communist writer [Margaret Fairley](/source/Margaret_Fairley). Keeling moved to be a member of the Harbour Commission in [Burma](/source/British_rule_in_Burma), then a British colony.[2] With the outbreak of the [First World War](/source/First_World_War), Keeling received a commission as an officer in the Indian Army Reserve of Officers.[6] He served in the [Mesopotamian Campaign](/source/Mesopotamian_Campaign), and was present at the surrender of [Kut](/source/Siege_of_Kut) by the British at the hands of Ottoman forces. Following the surrender, he served as a prisoner of war in Turkey until his escape, which eventually landed him in Bolshevik Russia. He returned to England, he served as the head of a special branch (responsible for Turkey and Bulgaria) in the British General Staff for enabling officers to escape. He was awarded the [Military Cross](/source/Military_Cross) in October 1918.[7] ## Post war activity He gained credentials as a journalist for the *[Westminster Gazette](/source/Westminster_Gazette)* and in July 1919 entered Russia, accompanied by [William Thomas Goode](/source/William_Thomas_Goode). Whilst the Russian government invited Goode to continue to Moscow, Keeling remained stranded at [Velikie Luki](/source/Velikie_Luki). He published his story as *Adventures in Turkey and Russia* in 1924.[8] After the war, he entered business: he was General Manager of the [Turkish Petroleum Company](/source/Turkish_Petroleum_Company), a member of [Lloyd's of London](/source/Lloyd's_of_London) and a director of the Wallsend and Hebburn Coal Company.[2][3] Keeling unsuccessfully contested the [1929 general election](/source/1929_United_Kingdom_general_election) in the [Southwark Central](/source/Southwark_Central_(UK_Parliament_constituency)) constituency, a [safe seat](/source/Safe_seat) for the [Labour Party](/source/Labour_Party_(UK)). His next parliamentary candidacy was at the [1935 general election](/source/1935_United_Kingdom_general_election), when he was elected as MP for [Twickenham](/source/Twickenham_(UK_Parliament_constituency)). His name is best known in legislative and Parliamentary circles as a result of the question he asked of [Prime Minister](/source/Prime_Minister_of_the_United_Kingdom), [Neville Chamberlain](/source/Neville_Chamberlain) on 26 July 1938 "whether he has considered a memorandum on the evils of legislation by reference submitted to him by a number of Members; and whether he has any statement to make".[9] The Prime Minister, as the Minister responsible for the work of the [Office of the Parliamentary Counsel](/source/Office_of_the_Parliamentary_Counsel_(United_Kingdom)), who draft all UK Government legislation, replied that: "I have considered the memorandum with interest.... The suggestion made is, in effect, that a Bill amending or applying an existing enactment by reference should contain a Schedule setting out the enactment as it will read when amended by the Bill.... This method is not, I understand, put forward as a panacea to be used in all cases.... There are, however, undoubtedly some cases where the method suggested by the memorandum would be both practicable and advantageous; and I have instructed the Parliamentary Counsel to proceed experimentally on the lines suggested in suitable cases".[9] These Schedules have subsequently become known as 'Keeling schedules'.[10] From 1945 to 1946, Keeling served as [Mayor of Westminster](/source/List_of_Lord_Mayors_of_Westminster).[3] In 1952 he was [knighted](/source/Knight_bachelor).[11] Keeling held the Twickenham seat until his death in 1954. The resulting [by-election in January 1955](/source/1955_Twickenham_by-election) was won by the Conservative candidate, [Gresham Cooke](/source/Gresham_Cooke). ## References - Craig, F. W. S. (1983 [1969]). *British parliamentary election results 1918–1949*. 3rd ed. Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. ISBN 0-900178-06-X. 1. ["Index entry"](http://www.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/information.pl?cite=rzP%2BkojTaKlcptuDTQN%2FtQ&scan=1). *FreeBMD*. ONS. Retrieved 2 June 2018. BIRTHS registered in October, November, and December 1883. KEELING, Edward Herbert; [Bradford, Y.](/source/Bradford) The *Times* obituary and other sources seem to have mistakenly assumed a birth year of 1888, which is when the birth of an Edward George Keeling was registered in [Market Drayton](/source/Market_Drayton). 1. "Obituary: Sir Edward Keeling. Conservative M.P. For Twickenham". *[The Times](/source/The_Times)*. 24 November 1954. p. 10. 1. ["KEELING, Sir Edward (Herbert)"](http://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/article/oupww/whowaswho/U239328). *[Who Was Who](/source/Who_Was_Who)*. [Oxford University Press](/source/Oxford_University_Press). Retrieved 1 May 2012. 1. "Council Of Legal Education". *[The Times](/source/The_Times)*. 3 November 1908. p. 15. 1. No. 27406. 14 February 1902. p. 941. 1. No. 29186. 8 June 1915. p. 5527. 1. No. 30950. 11 October 1918. p. 12079. 1. Keeling, Edward H. *Adventures in Turkey and Russia*. London: John Murray, 1924. 1. Official Report, 26/7/38; col. 2919 ["Legislation by Reference"](https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/written-answers/1938/jul/26/legislation-by-reference#S5CV0338P0_19380726_CWA_23). *[Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)](/source/Hansard)*. 26 July 1938. Retrieved 2 May 2012. 1. ["(Sexual Offences (Amendment) Bill) \[13 Nov 2000\]"](https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld199900/ldhansrd/vo001113/text/01113-32.htm). *Lords Hansard*. [Parliament of the United Kingdom](/source/Parliament_of_the_United_Kingdom) 1. No. 39480. 29 February 1952. pp. 1191–1192. --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Edward Keeling](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Keeling) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Keeling?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.