Edward Percy Smith

{{Short description|British politician (1891–1968)}} {{other people|Edward Smith}} {{British barrelled name|Percy Smith|Smith}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2016}} {{Use British English|date=August 2016}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Edward Percy Smith | birth_place = Wandsworth, London | death_place = Eastbourne, England | party = Conservative Party | office = Member of Parliament for Ashford | term_end = 23 February 1950 | term_start = 1943 | successor = Bill Deedes | predecessor = Patrick Spens | birth_date = {{birth date|1891|01|05|df=yes}} | death_date = {{death date and age|1968|05|25|1891|01|05|df=yes}} | image = | spouse = Mary Newland }} '''Edward Percy Smith''' (5 January 1891 – 25 May 1968) was a Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom and a playwright under the name '''Edward Percy'''.

==Biography== Born in Wandsworth, London, he was elected as Member of Parliament (MP) for Ashford at a by-election in 1943, and held the seat until he stood down at the 1950 general election.

Under the name Edward Percy, he was a popular playwright. His plays included ''The Shop at Sly Corner'' and, with Reginald Denham, ''Ladies in Retirement''.<ref>Reginald Denham, ''Stars in My Hair'', page 150</ref> He also worked occasionally in television and film, including contributing to the screenplay for the 1960 Hammer horror film ''The Brides of Dracula''. He died in Eastbourne aged 77.

Smith has earned mild infamy among biologists for releasing 12 specimens of the marsh frog in his garden at Stone-in-Oxney, Kent, during the winter of 1934–5.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The naturalized animals of Britain and Ireland|author=Lever, Christopher|date=2009|publisher=New Holland|isbn=9781847734549|oclc=432408429}}</ref> These escaped into a nearby mere, before steadily spreading. Today, it is regarded as an invasive species which eats the tadpoles of the common frog and which it widely succeeds.

==Selected plays== * ''The Last Straw'' (1937) * ''Suspect'' (1937) * ''The Shop at Sly Corner'' (1945)

== References == {{reflist}} *{{cite book |last=Craig |first=F. W. S. |authorlink= F. W. S. Craig |title=British parliamentary election results 1918-1949 |orig-year=1969 |edition= 3rd |year=1983 |publisher= Parliamentary Research Services |location=Chichester |isbn= 0-900178-06-X}} *{{Rayment-hc|date=March 2012}}

== External links == * {{Hansard-contribs | mr-edward-smith | Edward Smith }} * {{IMDb name|0672906}}

{{s-start}} {{s-par|uk}} {{succession box | title = Member of Parliament for Ashford | years = 1943–1950 | before = Patrick Spens | after = Bill Deedes }} {{s-end}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Edward Percy}} Category:1891 births Category:1968 deaths Category:Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Category:UK MPs 1935–1945 Category:UK MPs 1945–1950