Abraham Montagu Lyons (10 February 1894 – 29 November 1961) was an
English lawyer
A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...
,
judge
A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...
,
politician and author, who served as a
Conservative member of the
Parliament of the United Kingdom for
Leicester East, and as
Recorder of
Great Grimsby.
Background
Lyons was the only son of Rabinovitch Lyons of
West Bridgford,
Nottinghamshire.
He attended
Clee Grammar School for Boys
Matthew Humberstone Church of England School, also known as the Matthew Humberstone School, Matthew Humberstone C of E School, Matthew Humberstone Comprehensive School, MHS and Matty, was a secondary school in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolns ...
in Lincolnshire.
He was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the British Army on 23 October 1914, following the outbreak of
World War I.
Legal career
Lyons was
called to the
Middle Temple on 28 June 1922, at which time he was a
solicitor
A solicitor is a legal practitioner who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally-defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and ...
living in West Bridgford; became "leader" of the
Midland circuit, and "
took silk" in 1933. In 1936 he was appointed Recorder of Great Grimsby He was said to have been one of the few
Jewish judges in 1930s England to take an active role in the Jewish community.
Service in Parliament
Lyons was elected in the
1931 general election, unseating
Labour incumbent
Edward Frank Wise. He was re-elected in the
1935 election, but was defeated in the
1945 election by Labour candidate
Terence Donovan.
Writings
He was the author of ''The Law and Procedure Relating to Bastardy Orders'' (London: Stevens and Sons, 1923) and (with S.W. Magnus) of ''Advertisement Control'' (Leigh-on-Sea: Thames Bank, 1949), a commentary on the ''Town and Country Planning Act, 1947'', and on the ''Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) Regulations, 1948''.
World War II service
On 5 July 1938, he was granted a commission as
Squadron Leader and appointed to the command of the
No. 910 (County of Essex) Balloon Squadron of the
Auxiliary Air Force. He is referred to in ''
Hansard'' as "Major Lyons" but in his last appearance in that record (12 April 1945) is referred to as "Colonel Lyons"; the latter may have been a
brevet
Brevet may refer to:
Military
* Brevet (military), higher rank that rewards merit or gallantry, but without higher pay
* Brevet d'état-major, a military distinction in France and Belgium awarded to officers passing military staff college
* Aircre ...
commission.
Later years
From 1959 to 1960 he served as
Master of the Livery for the
Worshipful Company of Pattenmakers
The Worshipful Company of Pattenmakers is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. The Pattenmakers, who were incorporated by Royal Charter in 1670, were makers of wooden-soled overshoes. Pattens in previous times were helpful to p ...
.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lyons, Abraham Montagu
1894 births
1961 deaths
Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
UK MPs 1931–1935
UK MPs 1935–1945
Jewish British politicians