Major Kenneth Macdonald Beaumont
CBE
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 ...
DSO (10 February 1884 – 24 April 1965) was a British lawyer, Air Service Corps officer, and
figure skater. He made a major contribution to the development of international
aviation law
Aviation law is the branch of law that concerns flight, air travel, and associated legal and business concerns. Some of its area of concern overlaps that of admiralty law and, in many cases, aviation law is considered a matter of international ...
.
Early life
Beaumont was born in
Blackheath, London
Blackheath is an area in Southeast London, straddling the border of the Royal Borough of Greenwich and the London Borough of Lewisham. It is located northeast of Lewisham, south of Greenwich, London, Greenwich and southeast of Charing Cross, ...
. He served in the
Army Service Corps in the
First World War
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 ...
, reaching the rank of Major and being 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, ty ...
in 1918 for his services during the capture of
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
.
His family motto was: "Certum pete finem" (Seek a clear objective)
Aviation law
After becoming a joint partner in 1911 of the London-based legal practice, Beaumont and Son, (originally formed as a family practice by his grandfather in 1836) Major Beaumont turned the practice's focus to aviation law following an Imperial Airways accident in 1924. He was one of the three original legal advisers on the
International Air Transport Association (IATA) (although it was then called the International Air Traffic Association) Legal Committee and served in this capacity from 1925 to 1946. In the early part of his career at the IATA, he was responsible for drafting the terms and conditions for
passenger tickets,
baggage checks and consignment notes for cargo. In 1929, Major Beaumont attended, as an observer on behalf of the IATA, a conference in
Warsaw
Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
at which the
Warsaw Convention
The Convention for the Unification of certain rules relating to international carriage by air, commonly known as the Warsaw Convention, is an international convention which regulates liability for international carriage of persons, luggage, or ...
for the unification of certain rules relating to international carriage by air was drafted. He was instrumental in persuading the conference members not to schedule to the Convention standard forms of tickets, baggage checks and consignment notes.
Major Beaumont was elected Chairman of the C.I.T.E.J.A. (Comité International Technique d'Experts Juridiques Aérien) – soon to become the
International Civil Aviation Organization
The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO, ) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that coordinates the principles and techniques of international air navigation, and fosters the planning and development of international a ...
(ICAO) in 1946, of which he was also elected chairman whilst serving as its UK representative. The terms of his engagement were expressed by Lord Nathan thus:
:''We understand that you know more about the international aspects of air law than we do at the Ministry. In these circumstances, are you prepared to attend meetings of the C.I.T.E.J.A. on the understanding that you receive no brief or instructions from us and that, if we approve of the way in which you handle these meetings, we shall receive the credit and that, if we do not approve, your employment will be terminated?''
He was elected President of the legal committee of the ICAO in 1954. Major Beaumont was the author of a draft Convention intended to replace the Warsaw Convention but although, to his regret, his draft was not adopted, many of its provisions appeared in th
Hague Protocol1955. He retired from the ICAO in 1957, but continued to attend meetings as an observer on behalf of the
International Chamber of Commerce
The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC; French: ''Chambre de commerce internationale'') is the largest, most representative business organization in the world. Its over 45 million members in over 100 countries have interests spanning every sec ...
and the International Law Association.
Major Beaumont was the co-author of ''Shawcross and Beaumont'', the standard authoritative legal text on aviation.
Figure skating
As a
figure skater, Beaumont competed in both the
men's singles and
pair skating disciplines. His pairs partner was his wife,
Madelaine Beaumont. They represented
Great Britain at the 1920 Summer Olympics. Beaumont placed 9th in the
singles competition, and 8th in the
pairs competition.
He went on to serve as a referee or judge at the
World Figure Skating Championships
The World Figure Skating Championships (''"Worlds"'') is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union. Medals are awarded in the categories of men's singles, women's singles, pair skating, and ice dance. ...
, the
European Figure Skating Championships
The European Figure Skating Championships is an annual figure skating competition in which figure skaters compete for the title of European champion. Medals are awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, women's singles, pair skating, an ...
, and the
Winter Olympic Games
The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were h ...
. He served as President of the
National Skating Association of Great Britain from 1956 to 1966.
Philately
A
philatelist
Philately (; ) is the study of postage stamps and postal history. It also refers to the collection and appreciation of stamps and other philatelic products. Philately involves more than just stamp collecting or the study of postage; it is possi ...
specialist of the postage stamps of the United Kingdom and some of its colonies, he was president of the
Royal Philatelic Society London
The Royal Philatelic Society London (RPSL) is the oldest philatelic society in the world. It was founded on 10 April 1869 as ''The Philatelic Society, London''. The society runs a postal museum, the Spear Museum of Philatelic History, at its he ...
between 1953 and 1956, of whom he was a member since 1914. He was also a member of the
Fiscal Philatelic Society. He was then the founding president of the
Great Britain Philatelic Society
Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements
* Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size
* Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent
People
* List of people known as "the Great"
*Artel Great (born ...
in 1955, the year he signed the
Roll of Distinguished Philatelists
The Roll of Distinguished Philatelists (RDP) is a Philately, philatelic award of international scale, created by the Philatelic Congress of Great Britain in 1921. The Roll consists of five pieces of parchment to which the signatories add their n ...
.
[Butler, Arthur Ronald, ''The Roll of Distinguished Philatelists'', The British Philatelic Federation, 1990, page 116.]
Selected publications
*''The Postage Stamps of Great Britain, Part III''. 1954. (With
H.C. Adams)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beaumont, Kenneth
1884 births
1965 deaths
Royal Army Service Corps officers
British Army personnel of World War I
British male single skaters
British male pair skaters
English male single skaters
English male pair skaters
Companions of the Distinguished Service Order
Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
International Air Transport Association
International Civil Aviation Organization people
British philatelists
People from Blackheath, London
Figure skaters at the 1920 Summer Olympics
Olympic figure skaters of Great Britain
Presidents of the Royal Philatelic Society London
British solicitors
Signatories to the Roll of Distinguished Philatelists
British officials of the United Nations
20th-century British lawyers
Aviation lawyers