Edward Percy Smith (5 January 1891 – 25 May 1968) was a

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

politician in the United Kingdom and a playwright under the name Edward Percy.

Biography

Born in

Wandsworth, London Wandsworth Town () is a district of south London, within the London Borough of Wandsworth southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Toponymy Wandsworth takes its n ...

, he was elected as Member of Parliament (MP) for

Ashford Ashford may refer to: Places Australia *Ashford, New South Wales *Ashford, South Australia *Electoral district of Ashford, South Australia Ireland *Ashford, County Wicklow *Ashford Castle, County Galway United Kingdom * Ashford, Kent, a town ** ...

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 ''Ladies in Retirement'' is a 1941 American film noir directed by Charles Vidor and starring Ida Lupino and Louis Hayward, who were married at the time. It is based on a 1940 Broadway play of the same title by Reginald Denham and Edward Percy t ...

''. 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 The marsh frog (''Pelophylax ridibundus'') is a species of water frog native to Europe and parts of western Asia. Description The marsh frog is the largest type of frog in most of its range, with males growing to a size around 100 mm (3.9 ...

in his garden at Stone-in-Oxney, Kent, during the winter of 1934–5. These escaped into a nearby mere, before steadily spreading. Today, it is regarded as an

invasive species An invasive species otherwise known as an alien is an introduced organism that becomes overpopulated and harms its new environment. Although most introduced species are neutral or beneficial with respect to other species, invasive species ad ...

which eats the tadpoles of the

common frog The common frog or grass frog (''Rana temporaria''), also known as the European common frog, European common brown frog, European grass frog, European Holarctic true frog, European pond frog or European brown frog, is a semi-aquatic amphibian o ...

and which it widely succeeds.

Selected plays

* ''

The Last Straw ''The last straw'' is an idiom referring to the Straw that broke the camel's back The idiom "the straw that broke the camel's back" describes the minor or routine action that causes an unpredictably large and sudden reaction, because of the cumu ...

'' (1937) * '' The Shop at Sly Corner'' (1945)

References

* *

External links

* * 1891 births 1968 deaths Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1935–1945 UK MPs 1945–1950 {{England-Conservative-UK-MP-1890s-stub