Herbert Edmund Edmund-Davies, Baron Edmund-Davies, PC (15 July 1906 – 26 December 1992) was a British judge.

Early life and career

Born Herbert Edmund Davies at

Mountain Ash Mountain ash may refer to: * '' Eucalyptus regnans'', the tallest of all flowering plants, native to Australia * Mountain-ashes or rowan The rowans ( or ) or mountain-ashes are shrubs or trees in the genus ''Sorbus'' of the rose family, Rosa ...

( cy, Aberpennar), Glamorgan (now in

Rhondda Cynon Taf Rhondda Cynon Taf (; RCT; also spelt as Rhondda Cynon Taff) is a county borough in the south-east of Wales. It consists of five valleys: the Rhondda Fawr, Rhondda Fach, Cynon, Taff (Welsh: ''Taf'') and Ely valleys, plus a number of towns and vill ...

), Wales, he was the third son of Morgan John Davies and Elizabeth Maud Edmunds. Davies was educated at Mountain Ash Grammar School,

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

where he received a first-class LLB and an LLB in 1926 and an

LLD Legum Doctor (Latin: “teacher of the laws”) (LL.D.) or, in English, Doctor of Laws, is a doctorate-level academic degree in law or an honorary degree, depending on the jurisdiction. The double “L” in the abbreviation refers to the early ...

in 1928. Following this, he completed the

BCL BCL may stand for: Law & Politics * Bachelor of Civil Law, the term used to describe a variety of legal degrees offered by universities in English-speaking countries (as distinct from Canon Law and Common Law) * Bangladesh Chhatra League, the stud ...

in 1929 at

Exeter College, Oxford (Let Exeter Flourish) , old_names = ''Stapeldon Hall'' , named_for = Walter de Stapledon, Bishop of Exeter , established = , sister_college = Emmanuel College, Cambridge , rector = Sir Richard Trainor ...

, where he received the Vinerian Scholarship.

Called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and W ...

in 1929, he worked as examiner and lecturer at the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 milli ...

in 1930 and 1931. During the Second World War, he served in the Army Officers' Emergency Reserve and in the

Royal Welch Fusiliers The Royal Welch Fusiliers ( cy, Ffiwsilwyr Brenhinol Cymreig) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, and part of the Prince of Wales' Division, that was founded in 1689; shortly after the Glorious Revolution. In 1702, it was designate ...

. He was

Recorder Recorder or The Recorder may refer to: Newspapers * ''Indianapolis Recorder'', a weekly newspaper * ''The Recorder'' (Massachusetts newspaper), a daily newspaper published in Greenfield, Massachusetts, US * ''The Recorder'' (Port Pirie), a news ...

Merthyr Tydfil Merthyr Tydfil (; cy, Merthyr Tudful ) is the main town in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, Wales, administered by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council. It is about north of Cardiff. Often called just Merthyr, it is said to be named after T ...

from 1942 to 1944, of

Swansea Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the C ...

from 1944 to 1953 and of

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a ...

from 1953 to 1958. Between 1953 and 1964, Davies was chairman of the Denbighshire Quarter Sessions.

Judicial career

He was knighted in 1958 (becoming Sir Edmund Davies) when the Lord Chancellor, Lord Kilmuir appointed him a High Court Judge of the

Queen's Bench Division The King's Bench Division (or Queen's Bench Division when the monarch is female) of the High Court of Justice deals with a wide range of common law cases and has supervisory responsibility over certain lower courts. It hears appeals on point ...

(as Mr Justice Edmund Davies), a post he held until 1966. Davies's name almost immediately attracted public attention when it fell to him to try a German named Guenther Podola, who had shot and killed a police sergeant; Podola was convicted of capital murder and hanged in November 1959. In 1964 he was sent to Aylesbury to try the notorious Great Train Robbery (1963) case. The severity of the sentences he passed became and has remained controversial. Sworn of the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mo ...

in 1966, he 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) Justic ...

(as Lord Justice Edmund Davies) from 1966 to 1974. In 1967 he was appointed by the Secretary of State for Wales as chair of the

Aberfan Disaster Tribunal The Tribunal of Inquiry into the Aberfan Disaster (the Aberfan Disaster Tribunal), chaired by Lord Justice Edmund Davies, was established in 1966 to inquire into the causes of and circumstances of the Aberfan disaster. The report of the tribunal ...

. On 1 October 1974, he was appointed a

Lord of Appeal in Ordinary 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 o ...

("Law Lord") and was raised to the

Peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted noble ranks. Peerages include: Australia * Australian peers Belgium * Be ...

as Baron Edmund-Davies, of

Aberpennar Mountain Ash ( cy, Aberpennar) is a town and former community in the Cynon Valley, within the County Borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales, with a population of 11,230 at the 2011 Census, estimated in 2019 at 11,339. It includes the districts and ...

in the County of Mid Glamorgan. He changed his surname to "Edmund-Davies", so that his given name, which had formed part of his judicial title for more than 15 years, could be incorporated into his peerage title. Following very severe problems with the recruitment and retention of police officers in England and Wales because of chronically low pay, which had by then fallen far behind the pay for comparable occupations, in August 1977 Edmund-Davies was appointed by Labour Home Secretary Merlyn Rees MP to chair a commission of inquiry into the negotiating machinery for police pay and conditions. His terms of reference were enlarged in December 1977 to include the levels of pay. His report was published in July 1978 and recommended a substantial increase in pay for police officers – of the order of 45 per cent. His recommendations were implemented in full in 1979 by the incoming Conservative Government, and the essential elements of the Edmund-Davies pay regime have remained undisturbed ever since. The Edmund-Davies review has become a cornerstone for police pay and the

Police Federation of England and Wales The Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW) is the statutory staff association for police constables, sergeants, inspectors, chief inspectors and special constables in the 43 territorial police forces in England and Wales. Under UK l ...

– the representative body for police officers up to and including the rank of Chief Inspector – has tenaciously held onto the Edmund-Davies regime. In 1981, Edmund-Davies retired as a Law Lord. From 1974 to 1985, he was Pro-Chancellor of the

University of Wales , latin_name = , image = , caption = Coat of Arms , motto = cy, Goreu Awen Gwirionedd , mottoeng = The Best Inspiration is Truth , established = , , type = Confederal, non-member ...

. Edmund-Davies was President of the London Welsh Trust, which runs the

London Welsh Centre The London Welsh Centre ( cy, Canolfan Cymry Llundain) (founded as the Young Wales Association in 1920) is a community and arts centre on Gray's Inn Road, in the London Borough of Camden. The centre is owned and run by the London Welsh Trust. T ...

, from 1982 until 1988.

Family

In 1935, he married Eurwen Williams-James. They had three daughters.

Famous judgments

*''

R v Collins ''R v Collins'' 1973 QB 100 was a unanimous appeal in the Court of Appeal of England and Wales which examined the meaning of "enters as a trespasser" in the definition of burglary, where the separate legal questions of an invitation based on ...

'' 9722 All ER 1105 *'' Spartan Steel & Alloys Ltd v Martin & Co (Contractors) Ltd''

973 Year 973 ( CMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Spring – The Byzantine army, led by General Melias (Domestic of the S ...

QB 27 (dissenting) *''

Wilson v Racher ''Wilson v Racher'' 974ICR 428 is a UK labour law case concerning constructive dismissal. It serves as an example of an employer being found to have wrongfully dismissed an employee, because of the employer's own bad behaviour. Edmund-Davies ...

'' 974ICR 428 *'' Whitehouse v Lemon and Gay News Ltd'' [1979
2 WLR 281

Arms

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Edmund-Davies, Edmund Davies, Baron 1906 births 1992 deaths Royal Welch Fusiliers officers Law lords Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Knights Bachelor 20th-century Welsh judges People educated at Mountain Ash Comprehensive School Alumni of King's College London Alumni of Exeter College, Oxford Queen's Bench Division judges British Army personnel of World War II Members of Gray's Inn Members of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council 20th-century Welsh educators