Wilfrid Arthur Greene, 1st Baron Greene,First name spelt Wilfred in some sources (30 December 1883 – 16 April 1952) was a British lawyer and judge, noted for creating two crucial principles of administrative law, the

Wednesbury Wednesbury ( ) is a market town in the Sandwell district, in the county of the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England; it was historically in Staffordshire. It is located near the source of the River Tame, West Midlands, River Tame and ...

doctrine and the Carltona doctrine.

Early life, education and military service

Greene was born in

Beckenham Beckenham () is a town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. Prior to 1965, it was part of Kent. It is situated north of Elmers End and Eden Park, east of Penge, south of Lower Sydenham and Bellingham, and west ...

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

, son of Arthur Werguelin Greene, a solicitor, and his wife Katherine Agnes Fooke. He was educated at

Westminster School Westminster School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Westminster, London, England, in the precincts of Westminster Abbey. It descends from a charity school founded by Westminster Benedictines before the Norman Conquest, as do ...

; he was one of the first

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

pupils to be admitted to the School. He graduated from

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

in 1906 with a BA; he had the reputation of being "a formidable scholar". He was admitted to

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 association for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practice as a barrister in England and Wa ...

in 1908 entitled to practice as a Barrister-at-Law. He married Nancy Wright in 1909. He gained the rank of captain in the service of the 2/1st Battalion,

Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry was a light infantry regiment of the British Army that existed from 1881 until 1958, serving in the Second Boer War, World War I and World War II. The regiment was formed as a consequence of th ...

. He fought in the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

between 1914 and 1918. He was decorated with the award of the MC in 1918. He was decorated with the award of Cavaliere, Order of the Crown of Italy. He was decorated with the award of Croix de Guerre. He was invested with an OBE in 1919

Legal and judicial career

Greene was a

Lord Justice of Appeal A Lord Justice of Appeal or Lady Justice of Appeal is a judge of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales, the court that hears appeals from the High Court of Justice, the Crown Court and other courts and tribunals. A Lord (or Lady) Just ...

from 1935 to 1937. He served as

Master of the Rolls The Keeper or Master of the Rolls and Records of the Chancery of England, known as the Master of the Rolls, is the President of the Court of Appeal (England and Wales)#Civil Division, Civil Division of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales ...

between 1937 and 1949, and subsequently became a

Law Lord Lords of Appeal in Ordinary, commonly known as Law Lords, were judges appointed under the Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876 to the British House of Lords, as a committee of the House, effectively to exercise the judicial functions of the House of ...

. On 16 July 1941, he was raised to the peerage as Baron Greene, of Holmbury St Mary in the County of Surrey. The title became extinct on his death in April 1952, aged 68. Greene in his time was the acknowledged master of administrative law – indeed it is impossible to exaggerate his contribution to the development of this field of law. Despite some refinements, the ''Wednesbury'' doctrine of reasonableness remains the benchmark by which courts review decisions of public bodies. Of even greater significance was his enunciation of the Carltona doctrine in ''Carltona Ltd. v. Commissioners of Public Works'' 9432 All E.R. 560 that "the duties imposed upon Ministers and the powers given to Ministers are normally exercised under the authority of the Minister by responsible officials of the Department". It may fairly be said that the ''Carltona'' doctrine is the legal underpinning for the operation of the civil service in the United Kingdom and Ireland. In 1941 he chaired a Board of Inquiry into pay in the

mining Mining is the Resource extraction, extraction of valuable geological materials and minerals from the surface of the Earth. Mining is required to obtain most materials that cannot be grown through agriculture, agricultural processes, or feasib ...

industry, prompted by a series of strikes, and at the urging of

Harold Wilson James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx (11 March 1916 – 23 May 1995) was a British statesman and Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, from 1964 to 1970 and again from 197 ...

(the future Prime Minister, then serving as a wartime civil servant), who served as secretary to the inquiry, recommended both a pay rise and the establishment of a

minimum wage A minimum wage is the lowest remuneration that employers can legally pay their employees—the price floor below which employees may not sell their labor. List of countries by minimum wage, Most countries had introduced minimum wage legislation b ...

for the industry. Greene, who was not normally thought of as a "political" judge, is said to have remarked cheerfully that his report was the first step towards

nationalisation Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization contrasts with priv ...

of the

coal mines Coal mining is the process of resource extraction, extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its Energy value of coal, energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to Electricity generation, generate electr ...

Joldwynds

Greene acquired Joldwynds, a country house in Holmbury St Mary designed by

Arts and Crafts The Arts and Crafts movement was an international trend in the Decorative arts, decorative and fine arts that developed earliest and most fully in the British Isles and subsequently spread across the British Empire and to the rest of Europe and ...

architect

Philip Webb Philip Speakman Webb (12 January 1831 – 17 April 1915) was a British architect and designer sometimes called the Father of Arts and Crafts Architecture. His use of vernacular architecture demonstrated his commitment to "the art of common ...

, but demolished it in 1930. He commissioned Oliver Hill to design a new Joldwynds in modernist style, completed in 1932. He also commissioned a house to a design by the modernist Tecton Group, which was built in the grounds of Joldwynds in 1939.

Honours

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level until 1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) Other ranks (UK), other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth of ...

in 1918. * OBE in 1919. * KC in 1922. *Cavaliere,

Order of the Crown of Italy The Order of the Crown of Italy ( or OCI) was founded as a national order in 1868 by King Victor Emmanuel II of Italy, Vittorio Emanuele II, to commemorate Italian unification, the unification of Italy in 1861. It was awarded in five degrees for ...

* Croix de Guerre *

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised Order of chivalry, orders of chivalry; it is a part of the Orders, decorations, and medals ...

in 1935. * Privy Councillor in 1935. *Raised to the

Peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes Life peer, non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted Imperial, royal and noble ranks, noble ranks. Peerages include: A ...

in 1941

Cases

*'' Associated Provincial Picture Houses v Wednesbury Corporation'' 9481 KB 223 *'' Re Smith & Fawcett''

942 Year 942 (Roman numerals, CMXLII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Summer – The Hungarian raid in Spain (942), Hungarians invade Al-Andalus (modern Spain) and besiege the f ...

Ch. 304 * '' Carltona v Commissioners of Public Works'' 9432 All. E.R. 580

Notes

References

*Jeremy Lever
‘Greene, Wilfrid Arthur, Baron Greene (1883–1952)’

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from History of the British Isles, British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') ...

, Oxford University Press, 2004 {{DEFAULTSORT:Greene, Wilfred 1883 births 1952 deaths 20th-century English judges Law lords English King's Counsel Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Masters of the Rolls Members of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council British Army personnel of World War I Recipients of the Military Cross Officers of the Order of the British Empire Knights Bachelor British recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France) Barons created by George VI People from Beckenham Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Recipients of the Order of the Crown (Italy)