Frederick Smith, 2nd Earl of Birkenhead facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
The Earl of Birkenhead
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| Lord-in-Waiting Government Whip |
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| In office 5 November 1951 – 28 January 1955 |
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| Monarch | George VI Elizabeth II |
| Prime Minister | Winston Churchill |
| Preceded by | The Lord Burden |
| Succeeded by | The Lord Chesham |
| In office 12 July 1938 – 10 May 1940 |
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| Monarch | George VI |
| Prime Minister | Neville Chamberlain |
| Preceded by | The Earl of Munster |
| Succeeded by | The Viscount Clifden |
| Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal |
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| In office 30 September 1930 – 10 June 1975 Hereditary Peerage |
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| Preceded by | The 1st Earl of Birkenhead |
| Succeeded by | The 3rd Earl of Birkenhead |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Frederick Winston Furneaux Smith
7 December 1907 |
| Died | 10 June 1975 (aged 67) |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Spouse |
Sheila Berry
(m. 1935) |
| Children |
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| Education | |
| Writing career | |
| Notable works | Rudyard Kipling (1978) |
Frederick Winston Furneaux Smith, also known as the 2nd Earl of Birkenhead, was born on December 7, 1907, and passed away on June 10, 1975. He was a British writer who wrote biographies, which are books about people's lives. He was also a member of the House of Lords, which is part of the UK Parliament.
He is well-known for writing a biography of the famous author Rudyard Kipling. This book was not published for many years because the Kipling family did not agree to it at first. Frederick Smith never saw his book printed during his lifetime.
Contents
About Frederick Smith
Frederick Smith was the son of F. E. Smith, 1st Earl of Birkenhead. From 1922, he was known as Viscount Furneaux. This was when his father became the Earl of Birkenhead. He had two sisters, Eleanor and Pamela.
Frederick went to school at Eton College and then studied at Christ Church, Oxford university. When his father passed away in 1930, Frederick inherited his father's titles. This meant he became the 2nd Earl of Birkenhead.
Family Life
In 1935, Frederick Smith married Sheila Berry. She was the daughter of the 1st Viscount Camrose. They had a son, Frederick William Robin Smith, in 1936. He later became the 3rd Earl of Birkenhead.
They also had a daughter, Lady Juliet Margaret Smith, in 1941. Lady Juliet became a Lady in Waiting to Princess Margaret. This meant she helped and supported the Princess from 1965 to 2002. Lady Juliet was also honored with a special award called the Dame Commander of the Royal Victorian Order.
Military Service and Government Roles
When World War II started, Lord Birkenhead served in the Territorial Army. This was a part-time military force. He was part of an Anti-Tank unit for three years.
After that, he worked for the Foreign Office's Political Intelligence Department. This group was also known as the Political Warfare Executive (PWE). He was involved in some missions during the war, including one in Croatia.
Lord Birkenhead also held important roles in the British government. He was a Parliamentary Private Secretary to Lord Halifax from 1938 to 1939. He also served as a Lord-in-waiting to King George VI and later to Queen Elizabeth II. A Lord-in-waiting is a person who helps the monarch with official duties.
His Writing Career
As a writer, Lord Birkenhead mostly wrote biographies about important political figures. These included books about Lord Cherwell and Lord Halifax.
In the late 1940s, he was asked by Rudyard Kipling's daughter, Elsie Bambridge, to write a biography of her father. They had an agreement that Elsie would have control over the book's content. However, Elsie Bambridge did not approve of Lord Birkenhead's finished work. Because of this, the biography was not published during his lifetime.
The book was finally published in 1978, after both Lord Birkenhead and Elsie Bambridge had passed away.
Lord Birkenhead passed away in June 1975 when he was 67 years old. At the time, he was working on a biography of Winston Churchill, who was his godfather. The part he finished, covering Churchill's life until 1922, was published in 1989.
Books Written by Frederick Smith
Here are some of the books Lord Birkenhead wrote:
- F.E.: The Life of F.E. Smith, first Earl of Birkenhead (1960)
- Frederick Edwin Earl of Birkenhead (1933 and 1936)
- Strafford (1938)
- Lady Eleanor Smith: a memoir (1953)
- Life of Lord Halifax (1965)
- The life of Viscount Monckton of Brenchley (1969)
- Rudyard Kipling (1978)
- Churchill, 1874–1922 (1989)
Images for kids
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A coronet, a type of crown worn by an Earl.
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The coat of arms associated with the Earls of Birkenhead.
