Rise of Neville Chamberlain particularly successful. After a period in a firm of chartered accountants, the younger Chamberlain spent six years in the Bahamas managing a sisal plantation in a failed attempt to recoup the family fortunes. After returning to England in 1897, Chamberlain became a successful businessman in his home city of Birmingham. He was interested in social affairs, and successfully stood for Birmingham City Council in 1911. He became Lord Mayor of Birmingham in 1915. His second term was interrupted in December 1916 when Prime Minister David Lloyd George asked him to become Director of National Service. Chamberlain received little support from
Rise of Neville Chamberlain at St Ermin’s Hotel where the Ministry was housed. Lloyd George wrote to his family (in Welsh) that "Neville Chamberlain has resigned and thank God for that." He met with considerable sympathy from members of parliament after his resignation. John Dillon, an Irish Nationalist MP, stated that "if Mr. Chamberlain were an archangel, or if he were Hindenburg and Bismarck and all the great men of the world rolled into one, his task would be wholly beyond his powers". Unionist Party leader Bonar Law spoke of the "absolutely impossible task" Chamberlain had faced. Auckland Geddes, Chamberlain's successor, was made a