William Rankine Milligan, Lord Milligan, (12 December 1898 – 28 July 1975) was a Scottish judge and Unionist politician. He served as

Solicitor General for Scotland His Majesty's Solicitor General for Scotland () is one of the Law Officers of the Crown, and the deputy of the Lord Advocate, whose duty is to advise the Scottish Government on Scots Law. They are also responsible for the Crown Office and P ...

and

Lord Advocate His Majesty's Advocate, known as the Lord Advocate (), is the principal legal adviser of both the Scottish Government and the Crown in Scotland for civil and criminal matters that fall within the devolution, devolved powers of the Scottish P ...

Early life

Milligan was educated at

Sherborne School Sherborne School is a full-boarding school for boys aged 13 to 18 located beside Sherborne Abbey in the Dorset town of Sherborne. The school has been in continuous operation on the same site for over 1,300 years. It was founded in 705 AD by Ald ...

University College, Oxford University College, formally The Master and Fellows of the College of the Great Hall of the University commonly called University College in the University of Oxford and colloquially referred to as "Univ", is a Colleges of the University of Oxf ...

, and the

University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...

. 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 ...

, Milligan served with the

Highland Light Infantry The Highland Light Infantry (HLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army formed in 1881. It took part in the First World War, First and World War II, Second World Wars, until it was amalgamated with the Royal Scots Fusiliers in 1959 t ...

from 1917 to 1919. Milligan was a noted athlete and ran for the Achilles Club. He won the mile relay

AAA Championships The AAA Championships was an annual track and field competition organised by the Amateur Athletic Association of England. It was the foremost domestic athletics event in the United Kingdom during its lifetime, despite the existence of the offi ...

title at the 1920 AAA Championships, with

Philip Noel-Baker Philip John Noel-Baker, Baron Noel-Baker, (1 November 1889 – 8 October 1982), born Philip John Baker, was a British politician, diplomat, academic, athlete, and renowned campaigner for disarmament. He carried the British team flag and won a s ...

, C. F. Wood and

Bevil Rudd Bevil Gordon D'Urban Rudd (5 October 1894 – 2 February 1948) was a South African athlete, the 1920 Olympic Champion in the 400 metres. Biography Rudd was born in Kimberley. He was the son of Henry Percy Rudd and Mable Mina Blyth; paternal ...

Legal career

Milligan was admitted as an

advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. List of country legal systems, Different countries and legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a ba ...

in 1925, and appointed a

King's Counsel A King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their Viceroy, viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarc ...

in 1945. He was appointed

from 1951 to 1954, and

from 1955 to 1960, and was made a

Privy Counsellor The Privy Council, formally His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its members, known as privy counsellors, are mainly senior politicians who are current or former ...

in 1955. He was appointed to the

College of Justice The College of Justice () includes the Supreme Courts of Scotland, and its associated bodies. The constituent bodies of the national supreme courts are the Court of Session, the High Court of Justiciary, the Office of the Accountant of Court, ...

in 1960, with the judicial title Lord Milligan.

Politics

Milligan was an unsuccessful parliamentary candidate at Glasgow St Rollox in

1945 1945 marked the end of World War II, the fall of Nazi Germany, and the Empire of Japan. It is also the year concentration camps were liberated and the only year in which atomic weapons have been used in combat. Events World War II will be ...

and again at

Central Ayrshire Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash, Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 ...

and 1951, and was elected for Edinburgh North in a 1955 by-election, where he served until 1960.

Family

His son

James Milligan, Lord Milligan James George Milligan, Lord Milligan, PC (10 May 1934 – 7 March 2005) was a Scottish lawyer and judge. He was a Senator of the College of Justice The senators of the College of Justice in Scotland are judges of the College of Justice, a set ...

was a

Senator of the College of Justice The senators of the College of Justice in Scotland are judges of the College of Justice, a set of legal institutions involved in the administration of justice in Scotland. There are three types of senator: Lords of Session (judges of the Court ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Milligan, William Rankine 1898 births 1975 deaths People educated at Sherborne School Alumni of University College, Oxford Solicitors general for Scotland Milligan Highland Light Infantry officers British Army personnel of World War I Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Edinburgh constituencies Unionist Party (Scotland) MPs Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom UK MPs 1955–1959 UK MPs 1959–1964 Members of the Royal Company of Archers Lord advocates Scottish King's Counsel 20th-century King's Counsel Ministers in the third Churchill government, 1951–1955 Ministers in the Eden government, 1955–1957 Ministers in the Macmillan and Douglas-Home governments, 1957–1964