Constituency : Loughborough 1922-24, Carlisle 1931-45 ( Conservative )
Edward took over from Oscar Guest for the National Liberals at Loughborough. He was unopposed because Labour failed to hand their papers in on time. He campaigned for Churchill in Dundee instead. He offered to give up his seat for Churchill but the offer was declined.
Edward was born in Paris of Jewish ancestry. He was educated at a German boarding school. He joined the army in 1903 initially serving in Ireland. He started working as a liaison officer in France before the First World War. During World War One, Edward's bilingual skills made him indispensable and furthered his career. He befriended Petain and Churchill. In 1917 he was promoted to Major. In 1918 he was promoted to Brigadier-General. He became Head of the Military Mission in Paris. After the war he developed business interests in Czechoslovakia.
Edward's maiden speech criticised the occupation of the Ruhr.
In 1923 Edward held on in a three-cornered contest. He went missing in the vote on the King's Speech. In 1924 he was pushed into third place.
Edward then joined the Conservatives and stood for them at Bosworth in a by-election in 1927. He came third. In 1929 he stood in Carlisle coming second. He won the seat in 1931 and held it in 1935 but lost out to Labour in 1945.
In 1936 Edward became chairman of the European Study Group, a cross-party group of MPs who opposed appeasement.
From 1930 onwards, Edward started publishing books about World War One.
In the Second World War Edward was the brains behind Operation Royal Marine, the floating of mines down the Rhine but it was delayed too long to have much effect. He tried to persuade the French to fight on but returned to Britain with de Gaulle when France fell. He later worked in the Middle East.
After his defeat, Edward concentrated on his business interests, chiefly gold mining in South Africa.
He died in 1974 aged 87.
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