Sir Neville Major Ginner Faulks,

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

, TD (27 January 1908 – 13 October 1985) was an English barrister and High Court judge.

Biography

Faulks was the son of M. J. Faulks, and Ada Mabel Faulks; his brother Peter Ronald Faulks, MC was later a Circuit Judge, and was the father of author

Sebastian Faulks Sebastian Charles Faulks (born 20 April 1953) is a British novelist, journalist and broadcaster. He is best known for his historical novels set in France – '' The Girl at the Lion d'Or'', ''Birdsong'' and '' Charlotte Gray''. He has also pub ...

and of barrister and minister

Edward Faulks, Baron Faulks Edward Peter Lawless Faulks, Baron Faulks, KC (born 19 August 1950), is an English barrister and unaffiliated peer who is the current Chairman of the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO). Formerly a Conservative peer, he was Mini ...

. Faulks was educated at

Uppingham School Uppingham School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school for pupils 13-18) in Uppingham, Rutland, England, founded in 1584 by Robert Johnson (rector), Robert Johnson, the Archdeacon of Leicester, who also established Oa ...

and

Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge Sidney Sussex College (referred to informally as "Sidney") is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England. The College was founded in 1596 under the terms of the will of Frances Sidney, Countess of Sussex (1531–1589), wife ...

. He was called to the bar at 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 1930, at the early age of 22. On the outbreak of the Second World War he joined the Territorial Army and saw action in North Africa, including at the

Battle of El Alamein There were two battles of El Alamein in World War II, both fought in 1942. The Battles occurred in North Africa, in Egypt, in and around an area named after a railway stop called El Alamein. * First Battle of El Alamein: 1–27 July 1942 * Secon ...

. He ended the war with the rank of

lieutenant-colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...

, was appointed an MBE, and twice

mentioned in despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

. His legal career took off after the war. In 1946 he was appointed prosecuting counsel to the

Board of Trade The Board of Trade is a British government body concerned with commerce and industry, currently within the Department for International Trade. Its full title is The Lords of the Committee of the Privy Council appointed for the consideration of ...

, and developed a large practice in commercial and libel law. 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 ...

in 1959. The same year he was appointed under the

Companies Act 1948 The Companies Act 1948 (11 & 12 Geo.6 c.38) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which regulated UK company law. Its descendant is the Companies Act 2006. Cases decided under this Act *''Bushell v Faith'' 970AC 1099 *''Scottish ...

to investigate the affairs of H Jasper & Company Limited, a merchant bank which had failed; his report, released in 1961, led to changes in company law. 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 ...

Deal A deal, or deals may refer to: Places United States * Deal, New Jersey, a borough * Deal, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * Deal Lake, New Jersey Elsewhere * Deal Island (Tasmania), Australia * Deal, Kent, a town in England * Deal, ...

between 1957–59 and Recorder of

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...

between 1959 and 1963. He was head of chambers at 1 Brick Court, a set which specialised in defamation law. In 1963, Faulks was appointed to the High Court and was

knighted 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 Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

. He was assigned to 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 ...

, which was later reformed as the

Family 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 ...

. On the bench, some of his colourful remarks attracted controversy. Most notably, at a 1974 trial of a man who had kicked his wife, Faulks told him that "If you had been a miner in South Wales, I might have overlooked it. But you are a cultured gentleman living in a respected part of the community." The following day, he admitted to having been "an absolute ass" and apologised in open court. Faulks retired in 1977. After his retirement, he published two volumes of memoirs: ''No Mitigating Circumstances'' (1977) and ''A Law Unto Myself'' (1978).

Family

Faulks married Bridget Marigold Bodley in 1940. She was born 1921 in Paddington, London, and was a childhood friend of author Pamela Whitlock of 'The Far Distant Oxus' fame, and may have been a source of inspiration for a central character of the novel, (she died in 1963); they had two sons and a daughter. In 1967, Faulks remarried to Elizabeth Parham, widow of the Rt Rev

Arthur Parham Arthur Groom Parham (25 June 18838 January 1961) was an English Anglican bishop who was bishop of Reading (a suffragan bishop in the Diocese of Oxford) from 1942 until 1954. Family and education Son of Edmund and Ann, Parham was educated at Magd ...

, MC,

Bishop of Reading The Bishop of Reading is an Episcopal polity, episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Oxford, which is within the Province of Canterbury, England. The current bishop of Reading is Olivia Graham (formerly Arc ...

. She died in 1982.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Faulks, Neville Royal Corps of Signals officers 1985 deaths People educated at Uppingham School Alumni of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge English barristers English King's Counsel Knights Bachelor Members of the Order of the British Empire Probate, Divorce and Admiralty Division judges Family Division judges English memoirists British Army personnel of World War II 1908 births 20th-century English lawyers