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 rowans, varieties of trees and shrubs in the genus ''Sorbus''
See also
* Mountain Ash, Rhondda Cynon Taf, a town ...
(), Glamorgan (now in
Rhondda Cynon Taf
Rhondda Cynon Taf (; RCT; also spelt as Rhondda Cynon Taff) is a Principal areas of Wales, county borough in the South East Wales, south-east of Wales. It consists of five valleys: the Rhondda Fawr, Rhondda Fach, Cynon, Taff () and Ely valleys, ...
), 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 university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...
where he received a first-class LLB and an
LLB in 1926 and an
LLD in 1928.
Following this, he completed the
BCL in 1929 at
Exeter College, Oxford, 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 ...
at
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 Wale ...
in 1929, he worked as examiner and lecturer at the
London School of Economics
The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...
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 () was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, and part of the Prince of Wales's Division, that was founded in 1689, shortly after the Glorious Revolution. In 1702, it was designated a fusilier regiment and becam ...
.
[ ] He was
Recorder of
Merthyr Tydfil
Merthyr Tydfil () 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 Tydfil, daughter of K ...
from 1942 to 1944, of
Swansea
Swansea ( ; ) is a coastal City status in the United Kingdom, city and the List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, second-largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of ...
from 1944 to 1953 and of
Cardiff
Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...
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 (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)
The Great Train Robbery was the robbery of £2.61 million (worth about £ million in ) from a Royal Mail train travelling from Glasgow to London on the West Coast Main Line in the early hours of 8 August 1963 at Bridego Railway Bridge, Ledburn ...
case. The severity of the sentences he passed became and has remained controversial.
Sworn of the
Privy Council 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) Just ...
(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. On 1 October 1974, he was appointed a
Lord of Appeal in Ordinary ("Law Lord") and was raised to the
Peerage
A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes Life peer, non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted Imperial, royal and noble ranks, noble ranks.
Peerages include:
A ...
as Baron Edmund-Davies, of
Aberpennar 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
Merlyn Merlyn-Rees, Baron Merlyn-Rees, (né Merlyn Rees; 18 December 1920 – 5 January 2006) was a British Labour Party politician and Member of Parliament from 1963 until 1992. He served as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1974–1 ...
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 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
The University of Wales () is a confederal university based in Cardiff, Wales. Founded by royal charter in 1893 as a federal university with three constituent colleges – Aberystwyth, Bangor and Cardiff – the university was the first universit ...
. Edmund-Davies was President of the London Welsh Trust, which runs the
London Welsh Centre, from 1982 until 1988.
Family
In 1935, he married Eurwen Williams-James. They had three daughters.
Famous judgments
*''
R v Collins''
9722 All ER 1105
*''
Spartan Steel & Alloys Ltd v Martin & Co (Contractors) Ltd''
973QB 27 (dissenting)
*''
Wilson v Racher''
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