Sir Edward Lucas Gardner, QC (10 May 1912 – 2 August 2001) was 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 ...

and

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

politician. Upon his death, ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' referred to him as 'the last of the pre-war-style Conservative QC-MPs'.

Life and family

Gardner was born in Preston,

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

on 10 May 1912 and was educated at

Hutton Grammar School Hutton Grammar School is a voluntary aided Church of England day school for boys, with a co-educational Sixth Form. It is located south west of Preston, Lancashire, in Hutton, England. It provides education for boys from the age of 11 to 16, an ...

. After leaving education he initially worked as a

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

. Gardner married Nina Collins in 1950 (having one son, one daughter) but was divorced in 1962. Then in 1963, he married Joan Belcher (also having one son, one daughter); this second marriage lasting until Joan's death in 1999. Gardner died in

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 ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

on 2 August 2001 aged 89.

Military career

Gardner served in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, surviving the sinking of two ships. In 1945 he was appointed a Commander 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 Chief of Naval Information (

East Indies The East Indies (or simply the Indies), is a term used in historical narratives of the Age of Discovery. The Indies refers to various lands in the East or the Eastern hemisphere, particularly the islands and mainlands found in and around t ...

Legal career

Gardner became a barrister, called to the bar by

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...

in 1947, and was deputy chairman of the

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

quarter sessions The courts of quarter sessions or quarter sessions were local courts traditionally held at four set times each year in the Kingdom of England from 1388 (extending also to Wales following the Laws in Wales Act 1535). They were also established in ...

. He became a distinguished and a Recorder of the Crown Court from 1972 to 1985. Gardner was appointed as a

Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of ...

in 1960 and was subsequently admitted to the

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

n and

British Guiana British Guiana was a British colony, part of the mainland British West Indies, which resides on the northern coast of South America. Since 1966 it has been known as the independent nation of Guyana. The first European to encounter Guiana was S ...

n bars: he also appeared in the courts of

Goa Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the ...

, the

High Court of Singapore The High Court of Singapore is the lower division of the Supreme Court of Singapore, the upper division being the Court of Appeal. It consists of the chief justice and the judges of the High Court. Judicial Commissioners are often appointed ...

and the

Supreme Court of India The Supreme Court of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme judicial authority of India and is the highest court of the Republic of India under the constitution. It is the most senior constitutional court, has the final decision in all legal matters ...

, besides having an extensive practice in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. He was a leading member of the

Society of Conservative Lawyers The Society of Conservative Lawyers was founded in 1947 and is an affiliate of the Conservative Party of the United Kingdom. A leading Conservative think tank, the society also provides expert legal advice to the Conservative Front Bench and hosts ...

, chairman of its executive committee from 1969 to 1975, and Chairman, 1975–85. Under his guidance, the society produced a steady flow of influential pamphlets on suggested changes to the criminal law. He chaired the committees that produced Rough Justice, a statement on the future of the law, in 1968, ''Crisis in Crime and Punishment'' (1971) and ''The Proper Use of Prisons'' (1978).

Political career

Gardner contested Erith and Crayford in 1955. He was

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for

Billericay Billericay ( ) is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Basildon, Essex, England. It lies within the London Basin and constitutes a commuter town east of Central London. The town has three secondary schools and a variety of open spaces. It is ...

from 1959 until he lost in 1966 by 1,642 votes (despite polling more than 38,000 votes). He returned as MP for Fylde South 1970-83 then for Fylde 1983 to 1987 when he retired. In 1987 Gardner made the first attempt to incorporate the

European Convention on Human Rights The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR; formally the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms) is an international convention to protect human rights and political freedoms in Europe. Drafted in 1950 by t ...

into

English law English law is the common law legal system of England and Wales, comprising mainly criminal law and civil law, each branch having its own courts and procedures. Principal elements of English law Although the common law has, historically, be ...

with a

Private Member's Bill A private member's bill is a bill (proposed law) introduced into a legislature by a legislator who is not acting on behalf of the executive branch. The designation "private member's bill" is used in most Westminster system jurisdictions, in whi ...

. Despite gathering some distinguished cross-party support (including Lord Hailsham of Saint Marylebone), he was unable to secure sufficient support to see his Bill into law. He was a strong advocate of Britain's membership of the common market. "Pulling Britain out of Europe would desolate our industries, increase our unemployment and reduce our stature in the world to insignificance….isolated from Europe we should no longer be able to influence legislation or rules which govern our trade". Gardner's major contribution to the law was the

British Nationality Act 1981 The British Nationality Act 1981 (c.61) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom concerning British nationality since 1 January 1983. History In the mid-1970s the British Government decided to update the nationality code, which had b ...

. Whilst in opposition in 1977, the Conservative Party asked Gardner to chair a study group to provide advice on changes to the nationality laws. The resultant

Green paper In the United Kingdom, the Commonwealth countries, Hong Kong, the United States and the European Union, a green paper is a tentative government report and consultation document of policy proposals for debate and discussion. A green paper represen ...

, "Who Do We Think We Are?", was published in 1980 and its threefold definition of nationality formed the basis for the Government's

legislation Legislation is the process or result of enrolled bill, enrolling, enactment of a bill, enacting, or promulgation, promulgating laws by a legislature, parliament, or analogous Government, governing body. Before an item of legislation becomes law i ...

Achievements

Called to the Bar, Gray's Inn in 1947; MP (Conservative) for Billericay 1959–66, for South Fylde 1970–83, for Fylde 1983–87; became a QC 1960; PPS to the

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

1962–63; Chairman, Justice Working Party on Bail and Remands in Custody 1966; Chairman,

Bar Council {{see also, Bar association A bar council ( ga, Comhairle an Bharra) or bar association, in a common law jurisdiction with a legal profession split between solicitors and barristers or advocates, is a professional body that regulates the profess ...

Committee on Parliamentary Privilege 1967; Recorder of the

Crown Court The Crown Court is the court of first instance of England and Wales responsible for hearing all Indictable offence, indictable offences, some Hybrid offence, either way offences and appeals lied to it by the Magistrates' court, magistrates' court ...

1972–85; Chairman, Society of Conservative Lawyers 1975–85; Steward,

British Boxing Board of Control The British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC) is the governing body of professional boxing in the United Kingdom. History The British Boxing Board of Control was formed in 1929 from the old National Sporting Club and is headquartered in Cardiff. ...

1975–84;

Knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

in 1983; Chairman, Select Committee on Home Affairs 1984–87.

References

*''The Times Guide to the House of Commons'',

Times Newspapers Ltd News Corp UK & Ireland Limited (trading as News UK, formerly News International and NI Group) is a British newspaper publisher, and a wholly owned subsidiary of the American mass media conglomerate News Corp. It is the current publisher of ...

, 1955, 1966 & 1983 *
Full Biography
*

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gardner, Edward 1912 births 2001 deaths Royal Navy officers of World War II Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II Members of Gray's Inn Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1959–1964 UK MPs 1964–1966 UK MPs 1970–1974 UK MPs 1974 UK MPs 1974–1979 UK MPs 1979–1983 UK MPs 1983–1987 People educated at Hutton Grammar School Knights Bachelor Politicians awarded knighthoods