Francis Lord Charlton Hodson, Baron Hodson, (17 September 1895 – 11 March 1984), also known as Charles Hodson, was a British judge who served as

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 ...

from 1960 to 1971.

Biography

Charles, as he was always known, was the son of Rev. Thomas Hodson, rector of Oddington,

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

, and Catherine Anne (''née'' Maskew), he was born in

Cheltenham Cheltenham (), also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a spa town and borough on the edge of the Cotswolds in the county of Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort, following the discovery of mineral s ...

, and educated at

Cheltenham College ("Work Conquers All") , established = , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent School Day and Boarding School , religion = Church of England , president = , head_label = Head , head = Nicola Huggett ...

and

Wadham College, Oxford Wadham College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is located in the centre of Oxford, at the intersection of Broad Street and Parks Road. Wadham College was founded in 1610 by Dorothy W ...

. His university studies were interrupted by 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 ...

, during which he served with the 7th Battalion,

Gloucestershire Regiment The Gloucestershire Regiment, commonly referred to as the Glosters, was a line infantry regiment of the British Army from 1881 until 1994. It traced its origins to Colonel Gibson's Regiment of Foot, which was raised in 1694 and later became the ...

in Gallipoli and Mesopotamia, being wounded several times. He received 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 i ...

for his action during the

Siege of Kut The siege of Kut Al Amara (7 December 1915 – 29 April 1916), also known as the first battle of Kut, was the besieging of an 8,000 strong British Army garrison in the town of Kut, south of Baghdad, by the Ottoman Army. In 1915, its population ...

with the following citation:

For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. He led his company most gallantly against a strong enemy redoubt, being twice wounded, and refused to be brought in till the wounded round him had been evacuated.

After the war, Hodson finished his studies and was

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 ...

by 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 Wal ...

in 1921. He initially practiced at the common law bar, but switched to the divorce bar, then thought of as a dead end because of financial reasons. At the time, judges of the

Probate, Divorce and Admiralty Division The High Court of Justice in London, known properly as His Majesty's High Court of Justice in England, together with the Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, are the Senior Courts of England and Wales. Its name is abbreviated as EWHC (England ...

were inevitable drawn from the admiralty bar. However, in 1937, the impending passage of the

Matrimonial Causes Bill Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

and the projected rise in the number of divorce cases made the appointment of a divorce specialist to the bench inevitable. As a consequence, that year, 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 ...

at the Lord Chancellor's invitation, was appointed to the High Court shortly after, and received 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 Gr ...

. Aged 42, he was the youngest High Court judge ever appointed. He was

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 ...

from 1951 to 1960, and was sworn in 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 1951. On 1 October 1960, he was appointed

and was created a

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages ...

with the title Baron Hodson, of Rotherfield Greys in the County of

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 ...

. He retired as Lord of Appeal in 1971. Hodson was a member of the

International Court of Arbitration ICC International Court of Arbitration is an institution for the resolution of international commercial disputes. It operates under the auspices of the International Chamber of Commerce and consists of more than 100 arbitrators from roughly 90 co ...

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...

between 1949 and 1971 and further president of the British branch of the

International Law Association The International Law Association (ILA) is a non-profit organisation based in Great Britain that — according to its constitution — promotes "the study, clarification and development of international law" and "the furtherance of international ...

. Of his legacy,

Lord Devlin Patrick Arthur Devlin, Baron Devlin, PC, FBA (25 November 1905 – 9 August 1992) was a British judge and legal philosopher. The second-youngest English High Court judge in the 20th century, he served as a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary fro ...

wrote that "Hodson's thirty-four years of judicial service left little or no mark on the law. He took the law as he found it, whether he liked it or not."

Selected judgments

In Shaw v DPP, (1961) UKHL 1 rendered on 4 May 1961, Lord Hodson said,

Personal life

In 1918, Hodson married Susan Mary Blake, daughter of Major William Greaves Blake. Susan had been his nurse during the war. They had three children. Their daughter, the Hon.

Anthea Joseph Anthea Esther Joseph ( Hodson; 6 March 1924 – 23 January 1981), also known by her second married name Hastings, was a British publisher. Life Anthea Joseph was born in London as Anthea Esther Hodson, daughter of Charles and Susan Hodson. D ...

, became a prominent publisher. Their elder son, Lt. Hubert Blake Hodson, was killed in action in Libya on 22 January 1941 while serving with the

9th Queen's Royal Lancers The 9th Queen's Royal Lancers was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, first raised in 1715. It saw service for three centuries, including the First and Second World Wars. The regiment survived the immediate post-war reduction in forces, but wa ...

. The younger son, Hon. Charles Christopher Philip Hodson, married Rose Markham, daughter of Sir Charles Markham, 2nd Baronet, in 1953. Lady Hodson died in 1965. Lord Hodson died in 1984 at a nursing home in

Goring-on-Thames Goring-on-Thames (or Goring) is a village and civil parish on the River Thames in South Oxfordshire, England, about south of Wallingford and northwest of Reading. It had a population of 3,187 in the 2011 census, put at 3,335 in 2019. Goring ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hodson, Francis 1895 births 1984 deaths People from Cheltenham People educated at Cheltenham College Gloucestershire Regiment officers British Army personnel of World War I Law lords Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Recipients of the Military Cross Members of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council Knights Bachelor Probate, Divorce and Admiralty Division judges Alumni of Wadham College, Oxford Lords Justices of Appeal