Sidney Henry Noakes (6 January 1905 –February 1993) was a British lawyer. Noakes was the second of three children born to Thomas Frederick and Ada Noakes. Noakes was raised by foster parents after the death of his parents. He was educated at Merchant Taylor's School, Hertfordshire, where he excelled academically and was accepted to study law at

St John's College, Oxford St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded as a men's college in 1555, it has been coeducational since 1979.Communication from Michael Riordan, college archivist Its founder, Sir Thomas White, intended to pro ...

in 1925. Noakes was called to the bar at Lincoln's Inn in 1928 following graduation. Noakes was part of the Security Service (MI5) during the Second World War as well as serving with the Intelligence Corps, having been commissioned in 1943. Noakes rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel in the Intelligence Corps. Noakes had a long legal career and eventually became a Judge, serving in the County Courts circuits in Surrey, Hertfordshire and Kent in the 1960s. Noakes was elected a bencher of

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of the four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. (The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn.) Lincoln ...

in June 1963. Noakes was briefly married, and had a daughter. Noakes spent his retirement in Hove, and died there in 1993. It is believed that Noakes was one of two MI5 officers that participated in "a gentle interrogation" given to the senior Nazi Heinrich Himmler after his arrest at a military checkpoint in the northern German village of Bremervörde in May 1945. Himmler subsequently killed himself during a medical examination by a British officer by means of a cyanide capsule that he had concealed in his mouth. Noakes was subsequently given permission to keep Himmler's braces and the forged identity document that had led to his arrest. Noakes's great niece donated them to the

Military Intelligence Museum The Intelligence Corps (Int Corps) is a corps of the British Army. It is responsible for gathering, analysing and disseminating military intelligence and also for counter-intelligence and security. The Director of the Intelligence Corps is a br ...

in May 2020. Noakes was the author of the second edition of ''Butterworth's digest of leading cases on workmen's compensation'' and ''Six Vital Acts of 1938''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Noakes, Sidney Henry 1905 births 1993 deaths 20th-century English judges Alumni of St John's College, Oxford British Army personnel of World War II Intelligence Corps officers Members of Lincoln's Inn MI5 personnel People educated at Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood