Sir Maurice Legat Lyell (28 July 1901 – 27 May 1975) was a British

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...

and judge, who sat in the Queen's Bench Division of the

High Court of Justice 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 of England and Wales, Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, are the Courts of England and Wales, Senior Cou ...

from 1962 to 1971.

Life

Lyell was born on 28 July 1901 and educated at

Trinity College, Glenalmond Glenalmond College is a co-educational independent boarding school in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, for children aged between 12 and 18 years. It is situated on the River Almond near the village of Methven, about west of the city of Perth. T ...

Glenalmond Glenalmond or Glen Almond ( gd, Gleann Amain) is a glen which stretches for several miles to the west of the city of Perth in Perth and Kinross, Scotland and down which the River Almond flows. The upper half of the glen runs through mountainou ...

, Scotland. He was educated at

Keble College, Oxford Keble College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its main buildings are on Parks Road, opposite the University Museum and the University Parks. The college is bordered to the north by Keble Road, to th ...

, where he was a classics

scholar A scholar is a person who pursues academic and intellectual activities, particularly academics who apply their intellectualism into expertise in an area of study. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or researche ...

, and he obtained a second-class degree in Modern History in 1923. He 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 ...

(becoming a

) as a member of

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 1926, and practised in London and on the North-Eastern Circuit. He was Director of Press Censorship at the Ministry of Information between 1940 and 1945. In 1954, he was appointed

Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of ...

. He became a High Court Judge in 1962, receiving the customary knighthood, and was assigned to the Queen's Bench Division. He was also made an

Honorary Fellow Honorary titles (professor, reader, lecturer) in academia may be conferred on persons in recognition of contributions by a non-employee or by an employee beyond regular duties. This practice primarily exists in the UK and Germany, as well as in m ...

of Keble College in 1962. He retired from the bench in 1971, and died on 27 May 1975. He was the father of

Nicholas Lyell, Baron Lyell of Markyate Nicholas Walter Lyell, Baron Lyell of Markyate, PC, QC (6 December 1938 – 30 August 2010) was an English Conservative politician, known for much of his active political career as Sir Nicholas Lyell. Early life Born in London, he was the son ...

, Attorney-General from 1992 to 1997.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lyell, Maurice Legat 1901 births 1975 deaths People educated at Glenalmond College Alumni of Keble College, Oxford British barristers Queen's Bench Division judges Members of the Inner Temple 20th-century King's Counsel Knights Bachelor