Anthony James Chadwick Sumption

DSC DSC may refer to: Academia * Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) * District Selection Committee, an entrance exam in India * Doctor of Surgical Chiropody, superseded in the 1960s by Doctor of Podiatric Medicine Educational institutions * Dalton State Col ...

VRD (15 May 1919 – 8 January 2008) was a British tax lawyer and wartime submarine RN commander.

Early life

Sumption was born at

Bishop's Stortford Bishop's Stortford is a historic market town in Hertfordshire, England, just west of the M11 motorway on the county boundary with Essex, north-east of central London, and by rail from Liverpool Street station. Stortford had an estimated po ...

. His father, John Chadwick Sumption was a journalist who wrote for trade journals, and his mother was Winifred Fanny Sumption. He was educated at Cheltenham College, where he joined the

Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a cit ...

. After leaving school, he began training as an articled clerk, and then decided to study Law at the London School of Economics.

War service

Sumption was called up for active service during the German annexation of the Sudetenland in 1938, but stood down later that year after the Munich Agreement. He returned to his studies at the LSE, but was called up again in 1940 after outbreak of the Second World War. He volunteered to serve as a submariner in 1941, and trained on , and . He was commissioned in the Royal Navy, becoming a Lieutenant in January 1942, and promoted First Lieutenant of in May 1943. In February 1944, Sumption and his captain, Lieutenant Commander Peter Newstead, were awarded the

Distinguished Service Cross The Distinguished Service Cross (D.S.C.) is a military decoration for courage. Different versions exist for different countries. *Distinguished Service Cross (Australia) *Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom) *Distinguished Service Cross (U ...

for "outstanding courage, skill and undaunted devotion to duty in successful patrols in H.M. Submarine ''Trident''". From August 1944 to June 1945, he commanded . He served as Flag Lieutenant to Vice Admiral Victor Crutchley, Flag Officer Gibraltar and Mediterranean Approaches, for six months until he was demobilised in 1946 and returned again to his studies. He remained an officer in the

RNVR The Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) is one of the two volunteer reserve forces of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. Together with the Royal Marines Reserve, they form the Maritime Reserve. The present RNR was formed by merging the original Ro ...

, and was promoted to Lieutenant Commander in 1950. He was awarded the Volunteer Reserve Decoration in 1953 and finally retired from naval service in 1955.

Legal career

Sumption qualified as a solicitor in 1946, building a small commercial and banking law practice and eventually specialising in the highly lucrative area of tax law. By 1964, he had become bored with being a solicitor and decided to become a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...

, In addition to his advocacy work, he wrote books on tax law, and spent five years as a part-time judge, before retiring in 1986.

Other activities

Sumption and

Humphry Berkeley Humphry John Berkeley (21 February 192614 November 1994) was a British politician and author. He was noted for his three changes of parties and his early support for gay rights. He is also remembered for a series of hoax letters he sent as fic ...

jointly established a small merchant bank, Sumption Berkeley, in the 1960s. He was also the chairman of two publicly listed companies: ''Great Swan Investments'' and ''Allied Investments''. Sumption sold his interest in the bank in 1971. He was involved in politics in the 1950s and 1960s, serving as a Conservative member of London County Council, representing Fulham East from 1949 to 1952, and of Westminster City Council from 1953 to 1956. He stood for Parliament at the Hayes and Harlington by-election in 1953, losing to the Labour candidate Arthur Skeffington, and for Middlesbrough West in the

1964 general election The following elections occurred in 1964. Africa * 1964 Cameroonian parliamentary election * 1964 Central African Republic parliamentary election * 1964 Central African Republic presidential election * 1964 Dahomeyan general election * 1964 Gabo ...

but was defeated by the Labour incumbent,

Jeremy Bray Jeremy William Bray (29 June 193031 May 2002) was a British Labour politician and a Member of Parliament for 31 years. Early life and education Bray was born in British Hong Kong, the son of Reverend Arthur Bray, a Methodist missionary. He ...

. He was chairman of the ''Conservative Political Centre''.

Private life

Sumption married Hilda Hedigan in 1946. They met in Gibraltar, where she was serving with the Women's Royal Naval Service. Their marriage was dissolved in 1979. He moved to the South of France after he retired, living at La Croix-Valmer near

Saint-Tropez , INSEE = 83119 , postal code = 83990 , image coat of arms = Blason ville fr Saint-Tropez-A (Var).svg , image flag=Flag of Saint-Tropez.svg Saint-Tropez (; oc, Sant Tropetz, ; ) is a commune in the Var department and the region of Provence-Al ...

, where he enjoyed boating and painting. He returned to London in 2001. Among many close friends were William Rees-Mogg and

who were godparents to two of his children. He was survived by two sons and two daughters. His elder son, Jonathan Sumption, upon appointment as a Justice of the

Supreme Court of the United Kingdom The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom (initialism: UKSC or the acronym: SCOTUK) is the final court of appeal in the United Kingdom for all civil cases, and for criminal cases originating in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. As the Unite ...

in 2012 became Lord Sumption.

Decorations

–

(DSC) *

– Volunteer Reserve Decoration (VRD)

Publications

* Lawton, John Phillip (author) & Sumption, Anthony (editor). ''Tax and Tax Planning''. London: Oyez (1980) * Sumption, Anthony. ''Taxation of Overseas Incomes and Gains''. London: Butterworth (1975). * Sumption, Anthony & Clarke, Giles. ''Capital Gains Tax''. London: Butterworths Tolley Ltd (1991).

Notes and sources

;Notes ;Sources * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sumption, Anthony 1919 births 2008 deaths English solicitors English barristers Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom) Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II Royal Navy submarine commanders Alumni of the London School of Economics Members of Lincoln's Inn People educated at Cheltenham College Members of London County Council Members of Westminster Metropolitan Borough Council Conservative Party (UK) parliamentary candidates Conservative Party (UK) councillors 20th-century English lawyers