Lord Beaverbrook on F. E. Smith, 1st Earl of Birkenhead

“He was brilliant and witty. His conversation was like a flashing display of fork lighting. He was a man without nerves, physically brave to a point of recklessness; willing at any time to put his limbs on the board as cheerfully as a smaller stake.”

“He was throughout his career a consistent Tory, faithful to a version of the party philosophy that was not harsh or unfeeling but was full of light and sentiment and sympathy for the problems of his fellow-countrymen. In council he was sensible and prescient; in argument he was persuasive, while his methods in debate gave additional proof of his superior ability. He was a good friend. I always thought of him as the cleverest man in the kingdom. He did not dissemble. He did not suffer fools. And of him Bonar Law said, "It would be easier for him to keep a live coal in his mouth than a witty saying."”