Sir Denys Ambrose Williams,

KCMG KCMG may refer to * KC Motorgroup, based in Hong Kong, China * Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George, British honour * KCMG-LP, radio station in New Mexico, USA * KCMG, callsign 1997-2001 of Los Angeles radio station KKLQ (FM) ...

, GCM (12 October 1929 – 7 August 2014) was a Chief Justice of Barbados. He served as acting

Governor-General of Barbados The governor-general of Barbados was the representative of the Barbadian monarch from independence in 1966 until the establishment of a republic in 2021. Under the government's Table of Precedence for Barbados, the governor-general of Barbados ...

from 19 December 1995 until 1 June 1996.

Biography

Early life and education

Denys Ambrose Williams was born on 12 October 1929 in Barbados. He was one of 10 children of family to George C. Williams and Violet Williams. He studied at

Combermere School Combermere School is a school in Barbados, notable as one of the oldest schools in the Caribbean, established in 1695. Its alumni include several leading cricketers, David Thompson, sixth prime minister of Barbados and other politicians, several ...

and Harrison College in Barbados, won a Barbados Scholarship in 1949 and went on to study law at

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, subsequently being admitted to the

English Bar Barristers in England and Wales are one of the two main categories of lawyer in England and Wales, the other being solicitors. Barristers have traditionally had the role of handling cases for representation in court, both defence and prosecutio ...

at the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn an ...

Career

He then returned to the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...

, spending some time working for the

West Indies Federation The West Indies Federation, also known as the West Indies, the Federation of the West Indies or the West Indian Federation, was a short-lived political union that existed from 3 January 1958 to 31 May 1962. Various islands in the Caribbean that ...

based in

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 ...

, before returning to

Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate). ...

in 1955 and being admitted as a

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 judici ...

. Holding the post of Barbados' Chief Parliamentary Counsel, Denys Ambrose Williams in cooperation with Sir Roy Marshall draft the constitution of Barbados, before Barbados gained independence in 1966. Also in that period he was one of the member of team accompanying first Prime Minister

Errol Barrow Errol Walton Barrow (21 January 1920 – 1 June 1987) was a Barbadian statesman and the first prime minister of Barbados. Born into a family of political and civic activists in the parish of Saint Lucy, he became a WWII aviator, combat vete ...

to the Independence conference in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. In 1966 Denys was appointed a

judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...

, at the time the youngest judge in the

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

at the age of 37, and subsequently became Chief Justice of Barbados. In May 1992, he declared illegal the government's decision to cut wages in the public sector by eight percent. This decision was upheld unanimously by the Privy Council in

, England. In 1981, he presided over the

extradition Extradition is an action wherein one jurisdiction delivers a person accused or convicted of committing a crime in another jurisdiction, over to the other's law enforcement. It is a cooperative law enforcement procedure between the two jurisdict ...

of the notorious robber

Ronald Biggs Ronald Arthur Biggs (8 August 1929 – 18 December 2013) was an English criminal who helped plan and carry out the Great Train Robbery of 1963. He subsequently became notorious for his escape from prison in 1965, living as a fugitive for 36 y ...

, ruling that Biggs could not be extradited to another country because the Barbados parliament had not ratified the extradition treaty with the UK. In 1987,

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

awarded the

knighthood A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

to Denis Williams, which was a great honor and significant event for him. 1995–1996 - held the post of Governor General of Barbados. Sir Denys retired as Chief Justice on 10 October 2001. At the time of his retirement,

Sir ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as p ...

Denys had been the longest serving judge in the Commonwealth, having given 34 years of his life to the judicial service of Barbados. Sir Denys Ambrose Williams was also an honorary member of the Canadian Bar and served as Commissioner of the National Insurance Scheme in Barbados until June 2014. He was also a member of the Rotary Club of Barbados and served as

Chief Scout A Chief Scout is the principal or head scout for an organization such as the military, colonial administration or expedition or a talent scout in performing, entertainment or creative arts, particularly sport. In sport, a Chief Scout can be the prin ...

of the Boys Scouts of Barbados for several years. In July 2012, Sir Denys, along with for Governor-General Sir Clifford Husbands were conferred as Honorary Chief Scouts.

Personal life

Sir Denys was married to Carmel, Lady Williams and they were the parents of children Denise, Fiona, Shaun, Clare, Roslyn, and Simon, and five grandchildren.

Denys Ambrose Williams died on 7 August 2014 at his home in Rockley, Christ Church, Barbados. He was 84. His body was interred at the Coral Ridge Memorial Gardens, The Ridge, Christ Church,

on Wednesday, 13 August 2014.

Awards

* Was awarded the

Gold Crown of Merit The Order of Barbados is a national Order of honours and decorations for Barbados. History The first Order of Barbados was instituted by Queen Elizabeth II by letters patent dated 25 July 1980. With Barbados becoming a republic on 30 November ...

(GCM). *

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 orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are the ...

in the

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...

. *

Knight Commander of the Order of St. Michael and St. George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III. It is named in honou ...

(KCMG) in 1993.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Denys 1929 births 2014 deaths Barbadian judges Barbadian knights Governors-General of Barbados Chief justices of Barbados Alumni of the University of Oxford Members of the Middle Temple