Leslie Gibson Chief Justice of Hong Kong

Sir Leslie Bertram Gibson QC (14 May 189621 September 1952) was a British lawyer and judge. He was Chief Justice of Hong Kong in the late 1940s.

Early life

Gibson was the son of George F Gibson of Coventry. He was educated at King Henry VIII School, Coventry. He obtained an LLB from the University of London.

Service in Malaya

Gibson joined the Malayan Civil Service in 1920 and served in

Malaya Malaya refers to a number of historical and current political entities related to what is currently Peninsular Malaysia in Southeast Asia: Political entities * British Malaya (1826–1957), a loose collection of the British colony of the Straits ...

until 1937. He was at one time official assignee at

Penang Penang ( ms, Pulau Pinang, is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia, by the Malacca Strait. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay ...

. He also served as Crown Counsel and Assistant Legal Adviser,

. While working in Malaya, he studied for the bar and was called to the Bar of Gray's Inn in 1930.

Legal career

In 1937, Gibson joined the

Colonial Legal Service The Colonial Service, also known as His/Her Majesty's Colonial Service and replaced in 1954 by Her Majesty's Overseas Civil Service (HMOCS), was the British government service that administered most of Britain's overseas possessions, under the aut ...

and in 1940 was appointed

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

of Trinidad. He was made a

King'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 or ...

in Trinidad in 1942. He served in that position until 1944 when he was appointed

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...

. In 1948, he was appointed Chief Justice of Hong Kong upon the transfer of

Henry Blackall Sir Henry William Butler Blackall QC (19 June 1889 – 1 November 1981) was an Irish lawyer and judge. He served as Attorney General of two British colonies in the mid 20th Century and served as Chief Justice of Trinidad and Tobago and Chief ...

to Africa. Gibson was knighted in the same year. In 1950, he returned to England, where he was appointed legal adviser to the

Foreign Office Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * Unit ...

Administration of African Territories. In 1951, he was appointed assistant legal adviser, Colonial Office and Commonwealth Relations Office.

Death

Gibson died on 21 September 1952 in

Godalming Godalming is a market town and civil parish in southwest Surrey, England, around southwest of central London. It is in the Borough of Waverley, at the confluence of the Rivers Wey and Ock. The civil parish covers and includes the settleme ...

, Surrey.The Straits Times, 24 September 1952, Page 8

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gibson, Leslie Bertram 1896 births 1952 deaths Alumni of the University of London British Hong Kong judges Chief Justices of the Supreme Court of Hong Kong Knights Bachelor People educated at King Henry VIII School, Coventry 20th-century King's Counsel Attorneys-General of Mandatory Palestine People from British Malaya Attorneys General of British Trinidad and Tobago Colonial Legal Service officers Malayan Civil Service officers