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
Neville Chamberlain British press. Negotiations between the Czech government and the Sudeten Germans dragged on through mid-1938. They achieved little result; Sudeten leader Konrad Henlein was under private instructions from Hitler not to reach an agreement. On 3 August, Walter Runciman (by now Lord Runciman) travelled to Prague as a mediator sent by the British government. Over the next two weeks, Runciman met separately with Henlein, the Czechoslovak President Edvard Beneš and other leaders, but made no progress. On 30 August Chamberlain met his Cabinet and Ambassador Henderson and secured their backing—with only First Lord of the Admiralty Duff Cooper dissenting against