Sir John Dexter Stocker, MC, TD, PC (7 October 1918 – 27 December 1997) was a British judge. He was a Lord Justice of Appeal from 1986 until his retirement in 1992. Born in Wimbledon, the son of a chartered accountant, Stocker was educated at

Westminster School (God Gives the Increase) , established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560 , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , head_label = Hea ...

and the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

, where he read Law. 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 opposi ...

, he served with the

Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment The Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army based in the county of Kent in existence from 1881 to 1961. The regiment was created on 1 July 1881 as part of the Childers Reforms, originally as the Queen' ...

. He saw action at Dunkirk, El Alamein, and in Italy. He won the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC ...

at the Battle of Monte Cassino. He reached the rank of

lieutenant-colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colo ...

. Having intended to become a solicitor, he changed his mind and was called to the Bar by the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn ...

in 1948. Becoming a

Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister o ...

in 1965, Stocker built a large common law practice, specialising in personal injury cases. He was counsel to the

Widgery Tribunal John Passmore Widgery, Baron Widgery, (24 July 1911 – 26 July 1981) was an English judge who served as Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales from 1971 to 1980. He is principally noted for presiding over the Widgery Tribunal on the events o ...

. Stocker was appointed to the High Court in 1973, receiving 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 ...

. Assigned to the Queen's Bench Division, he was promoted to the Court of Appeal in 1986. He retired in 1992.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stocker, John People educated at Westminster School, London 1997 deaths Knights Bachelor Recipients of the Military Cross People from Wimbledon, London Alumni of the University of London Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment officers British Army personnel of World War II Members of the Middle Temple English King's Counsel English barristers Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Queen's Bench Division judges Lord Justices of Appeal Military personnel from London