Sir Reginald Powell Croom-Johnson (27 July 1879 – 29 December 1957) was a British barrister, judge, and
Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
Member of Parliament for
Bridgwater. He was a noted philatelist with a specialist collection of the stamps of the British Solomon Islands.
Biography
Reginald Croom-Johnson was born at Clifton, Bristol, on 27 July 1879 to Oliver Croom-Johnson (1854–1925), of 36, St John's Road, Clifton, a director of a grain warehousing company, and his wife Agnes Emma Jane (née White). He was educated at
Bristol Cathedral School
Bristol Cathedral Choir School is a mixed gender non-selective musical Secondary Academy, located in the Cabot area of Bristol, England. Until 2008 it was known as Bristol Cathedral School. It is situated next to Bristol Cathedral, in the cent ...
and London University (LLB).
Croom-Johnson began his career as a
solicitor in 1901. He was called to the bar, Inner Temple, in 1907 and appointed Kings Counsel in 1927. He was recorder of Bath 1928–38. From October 1938 to January 1954, he was a judge in the
King's Bench Division
The King's Bench Division (or Queen's Bench Division when the monarch is female) of the High Court of Justice deals with a wide range of common law cases and has supervisory responsibility over certain lower courts.
It hears appeals on point ...
of the High Court of Justice. Later, he was a justice of the peace for Somerset and deputy chairman of the Quarter Sessions.
[CROOM-JOHNSON, Hon. Sir Reginald Powell.](_blank)
''Who Was Who'', A & C Black, online edition, Oxford University Press, 2014. Accessed 8 October 2017.
During the First World War he assisted in raising the
Old Boys' Corps. He was a lieutenant in the
King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry and subsequently attached to the
Judge Advocate-General's Department for special services in connection with the
Mesopotamia Commission.
[
In 1929, he was elected the ]Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...
(MP) for Bridgwater. In 1938, he resigned his seat after being appointed a justice of the High Court.[ His resignation precipitated the 1938 Bridgwater by-election.
Croom-Johnson died at age 78 at his home, Hillbrook House, at ]Trull
Trull is a village, electoral ward and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated near Taunton. The parish which includes Dipford has a population of 2,288.
History
The name Trull is thought to derive from the word ''Trendle'' meaning circl ...
, near Taunton
Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England, with a 2011 population of 69,570. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century monastic foundation, Taunton Castle, which later became a priory. The Normans built a castle owned by the ...
, Somerset, on 29 December 1957.
Family
He married Ruby Ernestine, daughter of Edwin Ernest Hobbs, in 1909; they had three sons, the second of whom, Oliver Powell Croom-Johnson, was killed on active service in 1940, the youngest son being Sir David Powell Croom-Johnson (1914-2000), who served as a Lord Justice of Appeal from 1984 to 1989.
Other activities
Croom-Johnson was a noted philatelist with a specialised collection of the stamps of the British Solomon Islands and wrote a book on that subject that was published in 1927. He also wrote a hobby guide to stamp collecting. While still a junior barrister, he represented Jonas Lek in 1926 in his claim against his insurers for items lost from a valuable stamp collection.["Obituary: Sir Reginald Croom-Johnson", '']Gibbons Stamp Monthly
''Gibbons Stamp Monthly'' (GSM) is a leading British philatelic magazine which can trace its roots back to 1890. GSM is published by the famous stamps and collectables firm of Stanley Gibbons and each issue includes updates to their various cata ...
'', Vol. 31, No. 6 (February 1958), p. 71.
Croom-Johnson was the chairman of the original committee for the foundation of Stowe School and wrote a book about its origins that was published in 1953. He was a member of the Carlton and Garrick clubs. He was a member of the council of the Men of the Trees.[
]
Selected publications
* ''Postage-Stamp Collecting ... Illustrated''. Bazaar, Exchange & Mart, London, 1923.
* ''Stamps of the British Solomon Islands (les timbres-poste des Iles Salomon)''. Editrice Filatelica (Collana di Pubblicazioni Filateliche 16), Turin, 1928.
* ''The origin of Stowe School''. W.S. Cowell, Ipswich & London, 1953.
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Croom-Johnson, Reginald
1879 births
1957 deaths
English solicitors
Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
UK MPs 1929–1931
UK MPs 1931–1935
UK MPs 1935–1945
British philatelists
People educated at Bristol Cathedral Choir School
Alumni of the University of London
English barristers
English justices of the peace
English knights
King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry officers
British Army personnel of World War I
Lawyers from Bristol
Knights Bachelor