Sir Thomas Patrick Russell PC (30 July 1926 – 28 October 2002), styled The Rt Hon Lord Justice Russell was a judge of the High Court of England and Wales and Lord Justice. Born in 1926, one of three brothers, all educated at

Urmston Urmston is a town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, which had a population of 41,825 at the 2011 Census. Historically in Lancashire, it is southwest of Manchester city centre. The southern boundary is the River Mersey, with Stretford ...

Grammar School and all graduates of

Manchester University , mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity , established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univer ...

, one of his brothers a chemist, the other a doctor. Patrick, the youngest, was called up in 1945 and served in the Intelligence Corps and the

Royal Army Service Corps The Royal Army Service Corps (RASC) was a corps of the British Army responsible for land, coastal and lake transport, air despatch, barracks administration, the Army Fire Service, staffing headquarters' units, supply of food, water, fuel and dom ...

. He read law at

. A keen sportsman, and especially a cricketer, he captained the university's

first eleven The First XI (or, less commonly, First 11) are the eleven primary players in an organisation's leading team, particularly a football or cricket team. A player who is considered a core part of the starting line-up in a First XI team is often the ...

, continuing his lifelong passion for

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

. He was called to the Bar in 1949 and entered the chambers of Arthur Jalland in Manchester, (later Ship Canal House and subsequently Peel Court Chambers), and practised on the Northern circuit. He was prosecuting Counsel to the

Post Office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...

(1961–70), Assistant Recorder of

Bolton Bolton (, locally ) is a large town in Greater Manchester in North West England, formerly a part of Lancashire. A former mill town, Bolton has been a production centre for textiles since Flemish people, Flemish weavers settled in the area i ...

(1963–70) and Recorder of

Barrow-in-Furness Barrow-in-Furness is a port town in Cumbria, England. Historically in Lancashire, it was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1867 and merged with Dalton-in-Furness Urban District in 1974 to form the Borough of Barrow-in-Furness. In 2023 the ...

(1970–71). He

took silk 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 ...

in 1971 and was Leader of the Northern Circuit from 1978 until 1980, when he was appointed to the High Court. He was presiding judge on the Northern Circuit from 1983 to 1987, when he was appointed to the

Court of Appeal A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of t ...

, where, among other high-profile cases, he sat in the libel appeals of

Private Eye ''Private Eye'' is a British fortnightly satire, satirical and current affairs (news format), current affairs news magazine, founded in 1961. It is published in London and has been edited by Ian Hislop since 1986. The publication is widely r ...

against Sonia Sutcliffe and of Count

Nikolai Tolstoy Count Nikolai Dmitrievich Tolstoy-Miloslavsky (russian: Граф Николай Дмитриевич Толстой-Милославский; born 23 June 1935), known as Nikolai Tolstoy, is a British monarchist and historian. He is a former ...

against

Lord Aldington Baron Aldington, of Bispham in the County Borough of Blackpool, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 29 January 1962 for the Conservative politician and businessman, Sir Toby Low. On 16 November 1999 he was made a ...

. In 1991 he was one of five members of the

who abolished the immunity of a husband from prosecution for rape in the case of ''

R v R is a decision in which the House of Lords determined that under English criminal law, it is a crime for a husband to rape his wife. In 1990, the defendant, referred to in the judgment only as R to protect the identity of the victim, had been ...

''. Russell played cricket for

Cricket club until he was in his forties. He was also chairman of

Lancashire County Cricket Club Lancashire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Lancashire in English cricket. The club has held first-class status since it was founded in 1864. Lancashire's home is Old Trafford Cricket Ground, although the team also play ...

from 1999 until 2001.

External links

Her Majesty's Courts Service websiteThe website of the judges, magistrates and tribunal members in England and Wales
{{DEFAULTSORT:Russell, Thomas Patrick 1926 births 2002 deaths Lords Justices of Appeal Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Knights Bachelor People educated at Urmston Grammar Alumni of the University of Manchester British King's Counsel British Army personnel of World War II Intelligence Corps soldiers Royal Army Service Corps soldiers