Sir Alexander Dingwall Bateson (30 April 1866 – 11 January 1935) was a British barrister and High Court judge. A shipping specialist, he sat in the Probate, Divorce and Admiralty Division from 1925 until his death in 1935.

Biography

Bateson was born in Allerton, Liverpool, the youngest of the six sons of William Gandy Bateson, partner in a prominent Liverpool firm of shipping solicitors, and of Agnes Dingwall Bateson, daughter of

Sir Thomas Blaikie Sir Thomas Blaikie of Kingseat (11 February 1802 – 25 September 1861) was a Scottish businessman who twice served as Lord Provost of Aberdeen, from 1839 to 1847 and 1853 to 1856. Life Born in Aberdeen, he was the son of John Blaikie (1756� ...

. A brother was the English rugby union player

Harold Dingwall Bateson Harold Dingwall Bateson (2 May 1855 – 29 October 1927) was an English rugby union international player. Personal history Bateson was born in Liverpool, Lancashire. He was the son of William Gandy Bateson and Agnes Dingwall Bateson (née Bla ...

. He was educated at Rugby School and at Trinity College, Oxford, where he took third-class honours in classical moderations (1887) and graduated with a pass BA degree in 1888. He was

called to the Bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

by the Inner Temple in 1891, and began his career in the chambers of Joseph Walton, later Mr Justice Walton. Drawing on Walton's backing and his own family connections, Bateson specialized in shipping work, mainly in salvage and collision cases in the Admiralty Division and sometime in the

Commercial Court Commercial Court is a type of specialized court on commercial law. List of existing commercial courts * Commercial Court (Belgium) * Commercial Court (England and Wales) * Commercial Court (Victoria) The Commercial Court is a sub-division o ...

, and built a substantial practice. He was appointed junior counsel to the Admiralty for Admiralty Division work in 1909, and the following year he relinquished the appointment when he became a King's Counsel. He was elected a bencher of the Inner Temple in 1920. In 1925, on the recommendation of Viscount Cave, Dingwall was selected to fill the additional judgeship created by the Administration of Justice Act 1925 in order to relieve congestion in the Probate, Divorce and Admiralty Division. He was duly appointed on 12 May 1925, and received the customary knighthood. During the First World War, he made Thomas splints at the Kensington Red Cross depot. He died in London on 11 January 1935.

Family

Dingwall married Isabel Mary Latham (died 1919), fourth daughter of William Latham QC, in 1893; they had four sons and two daughters.

Sir Dingwall Latham Bateson Sir Dingwall Latham Bateson, (7 July 1898 – 29 January 1967) was a British solicitor and President of the Law Society. Personal life Bateson was born on 7 July 1898 in Kensington, London. He was the son of judge Sir Alexander Dingwall Bateso ...

, President of the Law Society, was his son.

References

* https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-30639 {{DEFAULTSORT:Bateson, Alexander Dingwall Knights Bachelor 1866 births 1935 deaths People from Allerton People educated at Rugby School Alumni of Trinity College, Oxford Members of the Inner Temple English King's Counsel 20th-century King's Counsel Probate, Divorce and Admiralty Division judges