Sir Gerald Alfred Thesiger,

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

(25 December 1902 – 16 April 1981) was a judge of the High Court of England and Wales of the

Queen'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 ...

between 1958 and 1978.

Early life and education

Thesiger was born on Christmas Day 1902 in

Holyport Holyport (pronounced ''Hollyport'') is a suburban village in the civil parish of Bray (where at the 2011 Census the population was included), about 2 miles south of Maidenhead town centre in the English county of Berkshire. Etymology The nam ...

, Berkshire. He was the son of Major-General George Handcock Thesiger and his wife, Frances Fremantle, daughter of General Fitzroy William Fremantle. He was educated at Gresham's School, Holt,

Magdalen College Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the s ...

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

(1922–1925), and the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and ...

. Thesiger's grandfather was Lt.-General the Hon. Charles Wemyss Thesiger, a younger son of a

Lord Chancellor The lord chancellor, formally the lord high chancellor of Great Britain, is the highest-ranking traditional minister among the Great Officers of State in Scotland and England in the United Kingdom, nominally outranking the prime minister. Th ...

Frederic Thesiger, 1st Baron Chelmsford Frederic Thesiger, 1st Baron Chelmsford, PC, QC, FRS (25 April 1794 – 5 October 1878) was a British jurist and Conservative politician. He was twice Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain. Early life Born in London, Thesiger was the third ...

. The British general

Frederic Thesiger, 2nd Baron Chelmsford Frederic Augustus Thesiger, 2nd Baron Chelmsford, (31 May 18279 April 1905) was a British Army officer who rose to prominence during the Anglo-Zulu War, when an expeditionary force under his command suffered a decisive defeat at the hands of a ...

, and the judge

Alfred Henry Thesiger Alfred Henry Thesiger PC QC (15 July 1838 – 20 October 1880), styled The Hon. Alfred Thesiger from 1858 to 1877 and The Rt Hon. Lord Justice Thesiger from 1877, was a British lawyer and judge. Early life Thesiger was the third son of Lord Chan ...

(one of the youngest

Lords Justices of Appeal A Lord Justice of Appeal or Lady Justice of Appeal is a judge of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales, the court that hears appeals from the High Court of Justice, the Crown Court and other courts and tribunals. A Lord (or Lady) Justice ...

in history) were his great-uncles.

Career

In 1926, he was called to the Bar as a barrister. He was appointed

Recorder Recorder or The Recorder may refer to: Newspapers * ''Indianapolis Recorder'', a weekly newspaper * ''The Recorder'' (Massachusetts newspaper), a daily newspaper published in Greenfield, Massachusetts, US * ''The Recorder'' (Port Pirie), a news ...

of Rye in 1937. During

World War II 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 opposing ...

, he was commissioned as a Major in the Office of the Judge Advocate General, and was appointed Recorder of

Hastings Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west ...

in 1942. He entered local government in London, initially as a member of Fulham Borough Council from 1934 to 1937 and then of Chelsea Borough Council from 1937 to 1958. He was Mayor of Chelsea from 1944 to 1946. He took silk as a King's Counsel in 1948 and was appointed Recorder of

Southend-on-Sea Southend-on-Sea (), commonly referred to as Southend (), is a coastal city and unitary authority area with borough status in southeastern Essex, England. It lies on the north side of the Thames Estuary, east of central London. It is bordered ...

in 1952. He became a Bencher of the Inner Temple in 1956 and served as a High Court Judge of the

between 1958 and 1978.

Personal life

On 28 July 1932, Thesiger married Marjorie Ellen Guille, daughter of Raymond Guille of Long Island, New York, and they had three daughters, Oonah Caroline Thesiger (born 1936), Virginia Mary (born 1941, died 1972), and Juliet Elizabeth (born 1943).

Honours

*Member of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

, 1946 *

Knight 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 Gr ...

, 1958 *President of the British Academy of Forensic Sciences

Publications

*''The Judge and the Expert Witness'' in ''Medicine, Science and the Law'', 1975, volume 15

References

1902 births 1981 deaths Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford 20th-century English judges English King's Counsel Knights Bachelor Mayors of places in Greater London Members of the Order of the British Empire People educated at Gresham's School Queen's Bench Division judges 20th-century King's Counsel Members of Chelsea Metropolitan Borough Council

Gerald Gerald is a male Germanic given name meaning "rule of the spear" from the prefix ''ger-'' ("spear") and suffix ''-wald'' ("rule"). Variants include the English given name Jerrold, the feminine nickname Jeri and the Welsh language Gerallt and Iris ...

{{England-mayor-stub