Lobby Fodder

During the Second World War, Sir Edmund had leased a house in Eaton Square, one of the most prestigious addresses in a very imposing residential area of London. And there the then Foreign Secretary Sir Anthony Eden, with whom he had become good friends when up at Oxford, and who was godfather to his elder daughter Juliet, would hold secret Cabinet meetings concerning geopolitical issues that the newspapers wouldn't get to hear about.

It doesn't seem likely that Edmund himself would have been involved in such matters, as I don't think he was ever elevated to higher post or office during his decade (14 Nov 1935 – 15 Jun 1945) as backbench MP for Banffshire. But a low political profile probably suited him ideally – an excuse to spend time in the bright lights and social whirl of London, well away from Aberlour (wife and family) and Edinburgh (newspaper directorship), but without Parliamentary duties or responsibilities.