Alexander Adair Roche, Baron Roche PC (24 July 1871 – 22 December 1956) was a British barrister and

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 ...

Early life and education

Born in Ipswich, Adair Roche was the second son of William Brock Roche (died 1925), a doctor, and his wife Mary Roche, ''née'' Fraser (died 1928), daughter of William Fraser. Roche was educated at

Ipswich School Ipswich School is a public school (English fee-charging boarding and day school) for pupils aged 3 to 18 in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. North of the town centre, Ipswich School has four parts on three adjacent sites. The Pre-Prep and Nur ...

and

Wadham College, Oxford Wadham College ( ) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is located in the centre of Oxford, at the intersection of Broad Street, Oxford, Broad Street and Parks Road ...

, where he was a classical scholar. He obtained first-class honours in both the honour moderations (1892) and in ''literae humaniores'' (1894), graduating with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

in 1894 and a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

in 1913. At Wadham, he was a contemporary of F. E. Smith and John Simon, both of whom became

lord chancellor The Lord Chancellor, formally titled Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom. The lord chancellor is the minister of justice for England and Wales and the highest-ra ...

Legal career

After working in the office of his uncle, a solicitor who specialised in maritime law, Roche read as a pupil with Scott Fox of the North-Eastern Circuit. He was called to the bar by the

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 1896 and went to the North-Eastern Circuit. At first, he took both civil and criminal work, but soon specialised in commercial cases. At the time, there was still much commercial work and some Admiralty work in courts in the north of England, and Roche eventually began to get corresponding commercial work in London as well. Roche became 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 1912, and henceforth concentrated almost exclusively on commercial case and arbitration in London, acquiring one of the largest practices in the field at the bar. The outbreak of 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 ...

brought further in the prize courts and in the Privy Council. He was elected a

bencher A bencher or Master of the Bench is a senior member of an Inn of Court in England and Wales or the Inns of Court in Northern Ireland, or the Honorable Society of King's Inns in Ireland. Benchers hold office for life once elected. A bencher c ...

of his inn in 1917.

Career

In 1917, Roche was appointed to the High Court of Justice (King's Bench Division), on which occasion he was created a

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 ...

. He served as chairman of the Oxfordshire Quarter Sessions from 1932 and held the same post in the Central Agricultural Wages Board from 1940. In 1934, Roche was made 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 ...

and was sworn of the Privy Council. On 14 October 1935 to fill a vacancy he was made 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 of ...

and created a

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...

age as Baron Roche, ''of

Chadlington Chadlington is a village and civil parish in the Evenlode Valley about south of Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire. The village has five neighbourhoods: Brook End, Green End, Mill End, East End and West End. Archaeology There is a bowl barrow abo ...

in the

County of Oxford Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Gloucestershi ...

''. Roche resigned in 1938 and a year thereafter he became Treasurer of the Inner Temple. He subsequently chaired a Departmental Committee on justices' clerks which reportedReport, Cmnd 6507, HMSO, para 231 in 1944 to the

Home Secretary The secretary of state for the Home Department, more commonly known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom and the head of the Home Office. The position is a Great Office of State, maki ...

Herbert Morrison Herbert Stanley Morrison, Baron Morrison of Lambeth, (3 January 1888 – 6 March 1965) was a British politician who held a variety of senior positions in the Cabinet as a member of the Labour Party. During the inter-war period, he was Minist ...

, recommending setting up Magistrates' Courts Committees and other reforms. This formed the basis of the Justices of the Peace Act 1949, introduced by Morrison's successor,

James Chuter Ede James Chuter Chuter-Ede, Baron Chuter-Ede, (; 11 September 1882 – 11 November 1965), was a British teacher, trade unionist and Labour Party politician. He was a Member of Parliament (MP) for 32 years, and served as the sole Home Secretary u ...

Family

On 22 March 1902, he married Elfreda Gabriel, third daughter of John Fenwick and had by her two sons and a daughter.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Roche, Adair Baron Roche 1871 births 1956 deaths Alumni of Wadham College, Oxford British King's Counsel Knights Bachelor Law lords Members of the Inner Temple Members of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council People educated at Ipswich School Queen's Bench Division judges 20th-century King's Counsel Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Lord justices of appeal Life peers created by George V