| Description | Letter, dated 31 May, in which Chamberlain, Westbourne, Birmingham, sympathises with Smedley on his losing 'one of the most vulnerable' [parliamentary] seats in the city. He adds a personal note wishing him better health. Five newspaper articles are included with this record, four of which relate to the opening of soup distributing centres in Smedley Crooke's Deritend constituency. Smedley Crooke not only suggested the scheme but made a personal financial contribution towards it.
Smedley Crooke (1861-1951) was an MP from 1922 to 1929 and again from 1931 to 1945. The vulnerable seat to which Chamberlain was referring was in the Deritend Division of Birmingham. |