Edward Smallwood (1861 – 26 February 1939) was an English

coal merchant A coal merchant is the term used in the UK and other countries for a trader who sells coal and often delivers it to households. Coal merchants were once a major class of local business, but have declined in importance in many parts of the developed ...

and

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

politician.

Family and education

Smallwood was the son of James and Mary Smallwood from Birchwood,

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...

. He was educated at

Doncaster Grammar School Doncaster ( ) is a city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, it is the administrative centre of the City of Doncaster metropolitan borough, and is the second largest settlement in South Yorkshire after Sheffield. Noted for i ...

. In 1887, he married Mildred Fenemore of

Steeple Aston Steeple Aston is a village and civil parish on the edge of the River Cherwell, Cherwell Valley, in the Cherwell (district), Cherwell District of Oxfordshire, England, about north of Oxford, west of Bicester, and south of Banbury. The Unite ...

. They had two sons who died in World War One (as noted on their gravestone in Abney Park cemetery in Stoke Newington) and one daughter.''Who was Who'', OUP 2007

Career

Smallwood established himself in London in 1877 and spent his whole working life in the coal business. He was the first President of the Coal Merchants’ Federation of Great Britain from 1918–1921 and Chairman of the Society of Coal Merchants, London in 1931.The Times, 31 May 1919 p4

Politics and public life

Politics

Smallwood made his home in

Islington Islington ( ) is an inner-city area of north London, England, within the wider London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's #Islington High Street, High Street to Highbury Fields ...

, living in the east of the Borough. He represented the area as a Liberal on the

Borough Council A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle Ag ...

, as a Progressive on the

London County Council The London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today ...

(from 1910–1917, having failed to be elected in 1907). He eventually got into

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

as Liberal candidate 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 1917 following the death of the sitting Liberal MP Sir George Radford. Smallwood contested the 1918 general election in

Islington East Islington East was a United Kingdom constituencies, constituency which returned one Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons of the Parliament of the United ...

as an independent Asquithian Liberal but was opposed by four other candidates. These included Alfred Baldwin Raper, a wartime airforce

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...

and timber merchant. Raper was the

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

candidate and had been awarded the

Coalition Coupon The Coalition Coupon was a letter sent to parliamentary candidates at the 1918 United Kingdom general election, endorsing them as official representatives of the Coalition Government. The 1918 election took place soon after British victory in the ...

and he took the seat by a majority of 3,384 votes and nearly 50% of the poll.F W S Craig, ''British Parliamentary Election Results, 1918-1949''; Political Reference Publications, Glasgow, 1949 p27 Smallwood tried to re-enter Parliament at the 1922 general election as Liberal candidate in East Ham South and in the same seat in

1923 In Greece, this year contained only 352 days as 13 days was skipped to achieve the calendrical switch from Julian to Gregorian Calendar. It happened there that Wednesday, 15 February ''(Julian Calendar)'' was followed by Thursday, 1 March ' ...

both times losing to

Labour and Co-op Labour and Co-operative Party (often abbreviated to Labour Co-op; ) is a description used by candidates in United Kingdom elections who stand on behalf of both the Labour Party and the Co-operative Party. Candidates contest elections under an el ...

candidate A J Barnes. He did not stand for Parliament again.

Other community work

To support his political career, Smallwood had undertaken charitable and social work in London. He was also a supporter of the Lords Day Observance Society, speaking at their meetings.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Smallwood, Edward 1861 births 1939 deaths UK MPs 1910–1918 Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Members of London County Council People from Amber Valley Politics of the London Borough of Islington