Background and education
Simonds was born in Reading, Berkshire, the son of Louis DeLuze Simonds and his wife, Mary Elizabeth Turnbull. They were members of a well-known Berkshire family of brewing magnates (see H & G Simonds Ltd). He was educated at Winchester College (where he was later a Fellow, and Warden from 1946 to 1951) and at New College, Oxford.Legal and political career
Simonds was called to the bar in 1906, and appointed a King's Counsel in 1924. He was elected a Bencher of Lincoln's Inn in 1929 and was Treasurer from 1951. He served as a Judge of the Chancery Division of theThe ''Shaw v DPP'' case
In 1962 Simonds achieved some notoriety in the case of ''Shaw v DPP'', where the House of Lords created the new criminal offence of " conspiracy to corrupt public morals". He declared:"In the sphere of criminal law I entertain no doubt that there remains in the Courts of Law a residual power to enforce the supreme and fundamental purpose of the law, to conserve not only the safety and order but also the moral welfare of the State, and that it is their duty to guard it against attacks which may be the more insidious because they are novel and unprepared for".Lord Reid was the only dissenting judge, saying:
"Parliament is the proper place, and I am firmly of opinion the only proper place, ''(to pass new laws)''. Where Parliament fears to tread it is not for the courts to rush in".
Family
Lord Simonds had three sons who all predeceased him. Robert Francis Simonds died in infancy; John Mellor Simonds (1915–1944) was killed in action at Arnhem in 1944, and Gavin Alexander Simonds (1915–1951) died as a result of illness contracted on active service in East Africa in 1951. Consequently, the hereditary barony and viscountcy became extinct on his death in June 1971, aged 89.Arms
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Simonds, Gavin Turnbull Simonds, 1st Viscount 1881 births 1971 deaths Alumni of New College, Oxford Chancery Division judges Contributors to Halsbury's Laws of England English barristers Knights Bachelor Law lords Lord chancellors of Great Britain Members of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Ministers in the third Churchill government, 1951–1955 People educated at Summer Fields School People educated at Winchester College People from Reading, Berkshire 20th-century King's Counsel 20th-century English lawyers Life peers created by George VI Hereditary barons created by Elizabeth II Viscounts created by Elizabeth II