Atholl MacGregor, Chief Justice of Hong Kong

Sir Alasdair Duncan Atholl MacGregor KC (4 June 1883 – 30 October 1945) was a British lawyer and judge. He served as Attorney General in a number of British colonies in the early 20th century. He was Chief Justice of Hong Kong from 1933 to 1945.

MacGregor's given names

MacGregor generally used the Christian name Atholl. In some sources it is spelt Athol. However, official announcements, such as his appointments and honours published in the '' London Gazette'', refer to him, as would be expected, by his full name of Alasdair Duncan Atholl MacGregor.

Early life

MacGregor was born in 1883, the son of Henrietta Forrester and her husband, Robert Roy MacGregor. His father worked for the Exchequer. The family lived at 55 Grange Loan in south

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

. Atholl attended the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

, where he graduated with an MA, followed by Lincoln College, Oxford, where he obtained a BA. He was called to the bar of Lincoln's Inn in 1909.

Appointments

MacGregor served as assistant district commissioner of Southern Nigeria from 1912 to 1914. In 1914 he was appointed a police

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judic ...

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national capital of Nigeria until December 1991 fo ...

and served in that position for 8 years. In 1922, he was appointed as

Crown counsel Crown counsel are lawyers, generally in Common Law jurisdictions, who provide advice to the government and acts as prosecutors in cases. In various jurisdictions their title can vary and they could also be known as the Queen's Advocate, King's Advo ...

and solicitor-general of

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

and served in that position until 1926. He was transferred to

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...

in 1926 and then to

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi ...

in 1929. In both places, he served as the

attorney-general In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

. He was made a King's Counsel in 1927 while serving in Trinidad. Allan Mossop and Atholl MacGregor in Japan 1935

In 1933 MacGregor was appointed Chief Justice of Hong Kong in succession to

Joseph Horsford Kemp Sir Joseph Horsford Kemp CBE King's Counsel, KC (1874-1950) was a British-Irish lawyer and judge. He served as Secretary for Justice (Hong Kong), Attorney General and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Hong Kong, Chief Justice of Hong Kong in ...

. As Chief Justice he was reported to "have won golden opinions on the bench where he has displayed abilities of a high order, whilst socially also he has shown himself to be a man of marked charm of personality." In his capacity as Chief Justice of Hong Kong, he also sat as a member of the

full court A full court (less formally, full bench) is a court of law sitting with a greater than normal number of judges. For a court which is usually presided over by one judge, a full court has three or more judges; for a court which, like many appellate ...

of the British Supreme Court for China in Shanghai. MacGregor was knighted in 1935. In 1937, he was appointed chairman of a committee to study restoration of allowances to Malayan civil servants. He was made a Commander of the Grand Priory in the British Realm of the Venerable Order of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem in 1940.

Internment by Japanese during World War II

MacGregor was interned by the Japanese in

Stanley Internment Camp Stanley Internment Camp () was a civilian internment camp in Hong Kong during the Second World War. Located in Stanley, on the southern end of Hong Kong Island, it was used by the Japanese imperial forces to hold non- Chinese enemy nationals a ...

from 1941 to 1945. During the time he continued to act as Chief Justice for the internees, including granting a number of divorces. MacGregor survived the war, but contracted

beriberi Thiamine deficiency is a medical condition of low levels of thiamine (Vitamin B1). A severe and chronic form is known as beriberi. The two main types in adults are wet beriberi and dry beriberi. Wet beriberi affects the cardiovascular system, ...

in the camp. His last official act as Chief Justice was to swear in

Franklin Charles Gimson Sir Franklin Charles Gimson (10 September 1890 – 13 February 1975) was a British colonial administrator who served as Governor of Singapore from 1946 to 1952. Gimson assumed the post of the Colonial Secretary of Hong Kong in December 1941. ...

as acting

Governor of Hong Kong The governor of Hong Kong was the representative of the British Crown in Hong Kong from 1843 to 1997. In this capacity, the governor was president of the Executive Council and commander-in-chief of the British Forces Overseas Hong Kong. ...

following the Japanese surrender.

Death

MacGregor was carried on to the first

hospital ship A hospital ship is a ship designated for primary function as a floating medical treatment facility or hospital. Most are operated by the military forces (mostly navies) of various countries, as they are intended to be used in or near war zones. I ...

leaving Hong Kong for England. He died on 30 October 1945 before reaching the Suez and was buried at sea.G Emerson, Hong Kong internment, 1942 to 1945: life in the Japanese civilian camp at Stanley, pp. 25–26 He is memorialised on his parents' grave in

Morningside Cemetery, Edinburgh Morningside Cemetery is a cemetery in south Edinburgh. It was established in 1878 by the Metropolitan Cemetery Company, originally just outwith the then city boundary, the nearest suburb then being Morningside. It extends to just over 13 ac ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:MacGregor, Alasdair Duncan Atholl 1883 births 1945 deaths Alumni of Lincoln College, Oxford Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Scottish expatriates in Hong Kong British Hong Kong judges British Supreme Court for China judges British King's Counsel Chief Justices of the Supreme Court of Hong Kong Knights Bachelor Members of Lincoln's Inn 20th-century King's Counsel Internees at Stanley Internment Camp Colonial Nigeria judges Attorneys General of British Trinidad and Tobago Attorneys General of British Kenya Burials at sea