Sir Norman Henry Pownall Whitley, (29 June 1883 – 12 April 1957) was a British Army officer and supreme court judge. He was a silver medallist in lacrosse at the 1908 Summer Olympics.

Biography

Whitley was born in Chorlton, Manchester and educated at

Emmanuel College, Cambridge Emmanuel College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1584 by Sir Walter Mildmay, Chancellor of the Exchequer to Elizabeth I. The site on which the college sits was once a priory for Dominican mon ...

. He entered 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 ...

to study law 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 ...

in 1907. In the 1908 Summer Olympics hosted by Great Britain Whitley was a member of the British Lacrosse team which went on to win a silver medal, losing to Canada in the final. On the outbreak of the First World War, he was commissioned into the

Manchester Regiment The Manchester Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1958. The regiment was created during the 1881 Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 63rd (West Suffolk) Regiment of Foot and the 96th ...

and after basic training was sent to Gallipoli, where he was awarded the Military Cross. After evacuation from Gallipoli, he served in Palestine and Arabia and was demobilized in 1920 with the rank of Major. Returning to the legal profession he was appointed a Deputy Public Prosecutor in Penang in 1920 but soon afterwards (1922) transferred to the

Straits Settlements The Straits Settlements were a group of British territories located in Southeast Asia. Headquartered in Singapore for more than a century, it was originally established in 1826 as part of the territories controlled by the British East India Comp ...

(Singapore) in the same capacity. There in 1929, he was appointed a Puisne Judge and then Judge and Acting Chief Justice for the Federated Malay States. Finally, in 1937, he was appointed

Chief Justice of Uganda The Supreme Court of Uganda is the highest court, judicial organ in Uganda. It derives its powers from Article 130 of the Constitution of Uganda, 1995 Constitution. It is primarily an appellate court with original jurisdiction in only one type of ...

, serving until his retirement in 1947. He was knighted KCB in 1941. He was latterly Chairman of the Uganda Cotton Industry Commission. He married Florence May Erskine and had 5 children. His son Peter married

Lady Mary Cambridge Lady Mary Cambridge may refer to: * Mary Somerset, Duchess of Beaufort (née Lady Mary Cambridge) * Lady Mary Whitley Lady Mary Ilona Margaret Whitley (née Cambridge; 24 September 1924 – 13 December 1999) was a relative of the British roy ...

References

External links

Norman Whitley's profile at Sports Reference.comSale of his medals
{{DEFAULTSORT:Whitley, Norman 1883 births 1957 deaths Alumni of Emmanuel College, Cambridge Members of the Inner Temple Lacrosse players at the 1908 Summer Olympics Olympic lacrosse players for Great Britain Olympic silver medallists for Great Britain People from Chorlton-cum-Hardy Recipients of the Military Cross Knights Companion of the Order of the Bath Medalists at the 1908 Summer Olympics Federated Malay States judges Uganda Protectorate judges Straits Settlements people Manchester Regiment officers British Army personnel of World War I Lawyers from Manchester Military personnel from Manchester