Sir Erima Harvey Northcroft (2 December 1884 – 10 October 1953) was a New Zealand lawyer, judge, and military leader. His papers from the Tokyo War Crimes Trial are held by the University of Canterbury.

Biography

Northcroft was born in

Hokitika Hokitika is a town in the West Coast region of New Zealand's South Island, south of Greymouth, and close to the mouth of the Hokitika River. It is the seat and largest town in the Westland District. The town's estimated population is as of ...

, New Zealand. He attended

Auckland University College , mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work , established = 1883; years ago , endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021) , budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021) , chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant , vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...

and began his law practice in

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

. In 1912, Northcroft was a founding member of the Hamilton District Law Society and later became its president. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Northcroft was an artillery officer in the

New Zealand Expeditionary Force The New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF) was the title of the military forces sent from New Zealand to fight alongside other British Empire and Dominion troops during World War I (1914–1918) and World War II (1939–1945). Ultimately, the NZE ...

, and was awarded the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typ ...

in the 1919 King's Birthday Honours. The same year he returned to New Zealand, resumed his law practice, and joined an

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

law firm in 1923. From 1927 to 1933, Northcroft was a deputy judge advocate general in the

New Zealand Army , image = New Zealand Army Logo.png , image_size = 175px , caption = , start_date = , country = , branch = ...

and from 1933 to 1935 was a Judge Advocate General. He was awarded the King George V Silver Jubilee Medal in 1935. Also in 1935, Northcroft was appointed a judge of the Supreme Court of New Zealand at

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

, a superior trial court. In his court, he was styled "The Honourable Mr Justice Northcroft". After 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 ...

, Northcroft was appointed as the New Zealand judge on the International Military Tribunal for the Far East in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

. In recognition of this service, Northcroft was appointed a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are the ...

in the 1949 King's Birthday Honours. After returning from Japan, he resumed sitting as a Supreme Court judge, and occasionally sat as a judge of the

New Zealand Court of Appeal The Court of Appeal of New Zealand is the principal intermediate appellate court of New Zealand. It is also the final appellate court for a number of matters. In practice, most appeals are resolved at this intermediate appellate level, rather t ...

. In 1953, Northcroft was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal. Northcroft died in Christchurch on 10 October 1953. He had married Violet Constance Mitchell in Auckland in 1908, and the couple had two daughters. One of his daughters was town planner Nancy Northcroft. After his death his papers went to the Justice Erima Harvey Northcroft Tokyo War Crimes Trial Collection at the

University of Canterbury The University of Canterbury ( mi, Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was ...

, which was added to the Asia Pacific regional section of the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

Memory of the World Register Memory is the faculty of the mind by which data or information is encoded, stored, and retrieved when needed. It is the retention of information over time for the purpose of influencing future action. If past events could not be remembered, ...

in 2010.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Northcroft, Erima 1884 births 1953 deaths Judges of the International Military Tribunal for the Far East 20th-century New Zealand judges New Zealand Knights Bachelor New Zealand military personnel of World War I New Zealand Companions of the Distinguished Service Order People from Auckland People from Hamilton, New Zealand People from Hokitika High Court of New Zealand judges Court of Appeal of New Zealand judges New Zealand judges of international courts and tribunals University of Auckland alumni