Herbert Edmund Edmund-Davies, Baron Edmund-Davies, PC (15 July 1906 – 26 December 1992) was a British judge.

Early life and career

Born Herbert Edmund Davies at

Mountain Ash Mountain ash may refer to: * ''Eucalyptus regnans'', the tallest of all flowering plants, native to Australia * Mountain-ashes or rowans, varieties of trees and shrubs in the genus ''Sorbus'' See also * Mountain Ash, Rhondda Cynon Taf Mountai ...

( cy, Aberpennar), Glamorgan (now in

Rhondda Cynon Taf Rhondda Cynon Taf (; RCT; also spelt as Rhondda Cynon Taff) is a county borough in the south-east of Wales. It consists of five valleys: the Rhondda Fawr, Rhondda Fach, Cynon, Taff (Welsh: ''Taf'') and Ely valleys, plus a number of towns and vil ...

), Wales, he was the third son of Morgan John Davies and Elizabeth Maud Edmunds. Davies was educated at Mountain Ash Grammar School,

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

where he received a first-class LLB and an

LLB Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

in 1926 and an LLD in 1928. Following this, he completed the BCL in 1929 at

Exeter College, Oxford Exeter College (in full: The Rector and Scholars of Exeter College in the University of Oxford) is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England and the fourth-oldest college of the un ...

, where he received the

Vinerian Scholarship The Vinerian Scholarship is a scholarship given to the University of Oxford student who "gives the best performance in the examination for the degree of Bachelor of Civil Law". Currently, £2,500 is given to the winner of the scholarship, with an a ...

Called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...

in 1929, he worked as examiner and lecturer at the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...

in 1930 and 1931. During the Second World War, he served in the Army Officers' Emergency Reserve and in the

Royal Welch Fusiliers The Royal Welch Fusiliers ( cy, Ffiwsilwyr Brenhinol Cymreig) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, and part of the Prince of Wales' Division, that was founded in 1689; shortly after the Glorious Revolution. In 1702, it was designated ...

. He was

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 ...

Merthyr Tydfil Merthyr Tydfil (; cy, Merthyr Tudful ) is the main town in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, Wales, administered by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council. It is about north of Cardiff. Often called just Merthyr, it is said to be named after Tydf ...

from 1942 to 1944, of

Swansea Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe). The city is the twenty-fifth largest in ...

from 1944 to 1953 and of

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

from 1953 to 1958. Between 1953 and 1964, Davies was chairman of the Denbighshire Quarter Sessions.

Judicial career

He was knighted in 1958 (becoming Sir Edmund Davies) when the Lord Chancellor, Lord Kilmuir appointed him a High Court Judge 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 ...

(as Mr Justice Edmund Davies), a post he held until 1966. Davies's name almost immediately attracted public attention when it fell to him to try a German named

Guenther Podola Guenther Fritz Erwin Podola (8 February 1929 – 5 November 1959, alias Mike Colato) was a German-born petty thief, and the last man to be hanged in Britain for killing a police officer. His trial was notable and controversial because of his ...

, who had shot and killed a police sergeant; Podola was convicted of capital murder and hanged in November 1959. In 1964 he was sent to Aylesbury to try the notorious

Great Train Robbery (1963) The Great Train Robbery was the robbery of £2.6million from a Royal Mail train heading from Glasgow to London on the West Coast Main Line in the early hours of 8 August 1963 at Bridego Railway Bridge, Ledburn, near Mentmore in Buckinghamshire ...

case. The severity of the sentences he passed became and has remained controversial. Sworn of the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

in 1966, he was a

Lord Justice 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 ...

(as Lord Justice Edmund Davies) from 1966 to 1974. In 1967 he was appointed by the Secretary of State for Wales as chair of the Aberfan Disaster Tribunal. On 1 October 1974, he was appointed a

Lord of Appeal in Ordinary Lords of Appeal in Ordinary, commonly known as Law Lords, were judges appointed under the Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876 to the British House of Lords, as a committee of the House, effectively to exercise the judicial functions of the House of ...

("Law Lord") and was raised to the

Peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted noble ranks. Peerages include: Australia * Australian peers Belgium * Belgi ...

as Baron Edmund-Davies, of Aberpennar in the County of Mid Glamorgan. He changed his surname to "Edmund-Davies", so that his given name, which had formed part of his judicial title for more than 15 years, could be incorporated into his peerage title. Following very severe problems with the recruitment and retention of police officers in England and Wales because of chronically low pay, which had by then fallen far behind the pay for comparable occupations, in August 1977 Edmund-Davies was appointed by Labour Home Secretary

Merlyn Rees Merlyn Merlyn-Rees, Baron Merlyn-Rees, (né Merlyn Rees; 18 December 1920 – 5 January 2006) was a British Labour Party politician and Member of Parliament from 1963 until 1992. He served as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1974–197 ...

MP to chair a commission of inquiry into the negotiating machinery for police pay and conditions. His terms of reference were enlarged in December 1977 to include the levels of pay. His report was published in July 1978 and recommended a substantial increase in pay for police officers – of the order of 45 per cent. His recommendations were implemented in full in 1979 by the incoming Conservative Government, and the essential elements of the Edmund-Davies pay regime have remained undisturbed ever since. The Edmund-Davies review has become a cornerstone for police pay and the

Police Federation of England and Wales The Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW) is the statutory staff association for police constables, sergeants, inspectors, chief inspectors and special constables in the 43 territorial police forces in England and Wales. Under UK lab ...

– the representative body for police officers up to and including the rank of Chief Inspector – has tenaciously held onto the Edmund-Davies regime. In 1981, Edmund-Davies retired as a Law Lord. From 1974 to 1985, he was Pro-Chancellor of the

University of Wales The University of Wales (Welsh language, Welsh: ''Prifysgol Cymru'') is a confederal university based in Cardiff, Wales. Founded by royal charter in 1893 as a federal university with three constituent colleges – Aberystwyth, Bangor and Cardiff � ...

. Edmund-Davies was President of the London Welsh Trust, which runs the

London Welsh Centre The London Welsh Centre ( cy, Canolfan Cymry Llundain) (founded as the Young Wales Association in 1920) is a community and arts centre on Gray's Inn Road, in the London Borough of Camden. The centre is owned and run by the London Welsh Trust. T ...

, from 1982 until 1988.

Family

In 1935, he married Eurwen Williams-James. They had three daughters.

Famous judgments

*''

R v Collins ''R v Collins'' 1973 QB 100 was a unanimous appeal in the Court of Appeal of England and Wales which examined the meaning of "enters as a trespasser" in the definition of burglary, where the separate legal questions of an invitation based on ...

972 Year 972 ( CMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Spring – Emperor John I Tzimiskes divides the Bulgarian territories, recent ...

2 All ER 1105 *'' Spartan Steel & Alloys Ltd v Martin & Co (Contractors) Ltd''

973 Year 973 ( CMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Spring – The Byzantine army, led by General Melias (Domestic of the S ...

QB 27 (dissenting) *''

Wilson v Racher ''Wilson v Racher'' 974ICR 428 is a UK labour law case concerning constructive dismissal. It serves as an example of an employer being found to have wrongfully dismissed an employee, because of the employer's own bad behaviour. Edmund-Davies L ...

974 Year 974 ( CMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Battle of Danevirke: Emperor Otto II defeats the rebel forces of King Harald I, who ha ...

ICR 428 *'' Whitehouse v Lemon and Gay News Ltd'' [1979
2 WLR 281

Arms

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Edmund-Davies, Edmund Davies, Baron 1906 births 1992 deaths Royal Welch Fusiliers officers Law lords Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Knights Bachelor 20th-century Welsh judges People educated at Mountain Ash Comprehensive School Alumni of King's College London Alumni of Exeter College, Oxford Queen's Bench Division judges British Army personnel of World War II Members of Gray's Inn Members of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council 20th-century Welsh educators