Frederick Arthur Greer, 1st Baron Fairfield, (1 October 1863 – 4 February 1945) was a British lawyer and judge. Born to a merchant and his wife, Greer became a barrister and member of

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 W ...

, practicing in Liverpool. In 1910 he became a King's Counsel, and in 1919 a judge of the

High Court of Justice The High Court of Justice in London, known properly as His Majesty's High Court of Justice in England, together with the Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, are the Senior Courts of England and Wales. Its name is abbreviated as EWHC (Englan ...

. In 1939 he was elevated to the peerage as Baron Fairfield.

Background and education

Greer was born to merchant Arthur Greer, who lived in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

and the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

, and his wife, Mary Hadfield Greer, (née Moore). He was educated at

Old Aberdeen Old Aberdeen is part of the city of Aberdeen in Scotland. Old Aberdeen was originally a separate burgh, which was erected into a burgh of barony on 26 December 1489. It was incorporated into adjacent Aberdeen by Act of Parliament in 1891. It ret ...

Grammar School before studying mental philosophy at the

University of Aberdeen , mottoeng = The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom , established = , type = Public research universityAncient university , endowment = £58.4 million (2021) , budget ...

, where he graduated with first-class honours and won the Fullerton scholarship.

Career

In 1886, he was called to the Bar at

after winning the Bacon and Arden scholarships, and began practising as a barrister in Liverpool, where he met Moelwyn Hughes and

Rigby Swift Sir Rigby Philip Watson Swift (7 June 1874 – 19 October 1937) was a British barrister, Member of Parliament and judge. Born into a legal family, Swift was educated at Parkfield School before taking up a place in his father's chambers and at ...

among others. His practice steadily grew, and in 1910 he became a King's Counsel. After continuing his career in London he was appointed a judge of the

(

King's Bench Division The King's Bench Division (or Queen's Bench Division when the monarch is female) of the High Court of Justice deals with a wide range of common law cases and has supervisory responsibility over certain lower courts. It hears appeals on point ...

) by Lord Birkenhead, and given the customary

knighthood 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 church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the ...

. In 1927 he became a Lord Justice of Appeal, sitting in the

Court of Appeal of England and Wales The Court of Appeal (formally "His Majesty's Court of Appeal in England", commonly cited as "CA", "EWCA" or "CoA") is the highest court within the Senior Courts of England and Wales, and second in the legal system of England and Wales only to ...

, and was also made a Privy Councillor. In 1932 he served as the British representative to the International Congress of Comparative Law at

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...

, and in 1939 he was raised to the peerage as Baron Fairfield, of

Caldy Caldy is a small, affluent village on the Wirral Peninsula, England, south-east of West Kirby. It is part of the West Kirby & Thurstaston Ward of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral and is in the parliamentary constituency of Wirral West. At the ...

in the

County Palatine of Chester Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county town ...

. He died at home on 4 February 1945, at which point the peerage became extinct. As a judge, some of his more notable decisions included: * '' Hall v Brooklands Auto-Racing Club'' 9331 KB 205 * '' John Shaw & Sons (Salford) Ltd v Shaw''

935 Year 935 ( CMXXXV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Spring – Arnulf I ("the Bad") of Bavaria invades Italy, crossing through the Upper ...

2 KB 113

Personal life

On 17 August 1901 he married Katherine van Noorden, and the couple had one daughter, Louise Mary Greer, who married Moelwyn Hughes. After the death of Katherine he married Mabel Lily Fraser in 1939. New York Times, Obituary
LORD FAIRFIELD; Former Lord Justice of Appeal, Critic of the British Law, 6 February 1945, p.19,

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fairfield 1863 births 1945 deaths Lords Justices of Appeal Queen's Bench Division judges 20th-century King's Counsel Knights Bachelor Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Alumni of the University of Aberdeen Barons created by George VI