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 A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

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 ''Code of Scotland Yard'' is a 1947 British crime film directed by George King and starring Oskar Homolka, Muriel Pavlow and Derek Farr. It was originally released as ''The Shop at Sly Corner'', being based on the popular stage play of that ...

'' and, with

Reginald Denham Reginald Denham (10 January 1894 – 4 February 1983) was an English writer, theatre and film director, actor and film producer. Biography Reginald H. F. Denham was born in London, England, in 1894. He spent a good part of his career dire ...

, '' Ladies in Retirement''. He also worked occasionally in television and film, including contributing to the screenplay for the 1960

Hammer horror Hammer Film Productions Ltd. is a British film production company based in London. Founded in 1934, the company is best known for a series of Gothic horror and fantasy films made from the mid-1950s until the 1970s. Many of these involve classi ...

film ''

The Brides of Dracula ''The Brides of Dracula'' is a 1960 British supernatural gothic horror film produced by Hammer Film Productions. Directed by Terence Fisher, the film stars Peter Cushing, David Peel, Freda Jackson, Yvonne Monlaur, Andrée Melly, and Mart ...

''. He died in

Eastbourne Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. It is also a non-metropolitan district, local government district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, bor ...

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 is an introduced species that harms its new environment. Invasive species adversely affect habitats and bioregions, causing ecological, environmental, and/or economic damage. The term can also be used for native spec ...

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 or simply the frog, is a semi ...

and which it widely succeeds.

Selected plays

* '' The Last Straw'' (1937) * ''

Suspect In law enforcement jargon, a suspect is a known person accused or suspected of committing a crime. Police and reporters in the United States often use the word suspect as a jargon when referring to the perpetrator of the offense (perp in dated U. ...

'' (1937) * ''

'' (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