Sir Henry John Clayden (26 April 1904 – 11 July 1986) was a Transvaal Colony-born judge who served as Chief Justice of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland from 1960 to 1964. He chaired the Rhodesian Commission of Inquiry into the

1961 Ndola United Nations DC-6 crash On 18 September 1961, a DC-6 passenger aircraft of Transair Sweden, operating for the United Nations, crashed near Ndola, Northern Rhodesia (present-day Zambia). The crash resulted in the deaths of all people onboard including Dag Hammarskjöl ...

, which killed

Dag Hammarskjöld Dag Hjalmar Agne Carl Hammarskjöld ( , ; 29 July 1905 – 18 September 1961) was a Swedish economist and diplomat who served as the second Secretary-General of the United Nations from April 1953 until his death in a plane crash in September 196 ...

, the

Secretary-General of the United Nations The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or SG) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the six principal organs of the United Nations. The role of the secretary-g ...

Biography

Born in

Maraisburg Roodepoort is a town in the Gauteng province of South Africa. Formerly an independent municipality, Roodepoort became part of the Johannesburg municipality in the late 1990s, along with Randburg and Sandton. Johannesburg's most famous botanical ...

, Transvaal, Clayden was the son of H. W. Clayden, an engineer. He was educated at

Diocesan College The Diocesan College (commonly known as Bishops) is a private, English medium, boarding and day high school for boys situated in the suburb of Rondebosch in Cape Town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. The school was established on ...

, Cape Town, Charterhouse School, and Brasenose College, Oxford. He joined 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 associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and ...

in 1925 and read in chambers with D. B. Somervell, KC (later the law lord Lord Somervell of Harrow). He was called to the English Bar at the Inner Temple in 1926 and called as an advocate to the South African Bar in 1927. Clayden practiced in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Dem ...

until the Second World War. He was commissioned into the South African Engineer Corps in 1940 and served with the 1st South African Division in Abyssinia and Egypt. After passing out of the Staff College, Haifa, Clayden returned to South Africa in 1942 as GSO II (Operations) to Coastal Area Headquarters. In 1944, he was temporarily released from military service to take part in an industrial arbitration. In 1945, he was released from military service, and was appointed a King's Counsel later in the year. He was a member of the Military Pensions Appeal Board until he was appointed Acting Judge of the Supreme Court of South Africa on 16 March 1946. On 18 April 1946, he was appointed a Judge of the Supreme Court of South Africa, Transvaal Provincial Division. In 1955, Clayden was appointed a Judge of the Federal Supreme Court, Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. In 1960, he was promoted Chief Justice of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. From 1964 to 1965, Clayden returned to South Africa as a Judge of the Supreme Court of South Africa. Moving to England, Clayden was appointed a chairman of Industrial Tribunals in 1967 on the recommendation of the Lord Chancellor, Lord Gardiner, serving until 1977. Clayton chaired the Southern Rhodesia Capital Commission in 1955, the Federal Delimitation Commission in 1958, and the Rhodesian Commission of Inquiry into the

in 1962. He was Acting Governor-General of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland from May to June 1961. Clayden was knighted in 1958 and was sworn of the Privy Council in 1963.

Family

Clayden married Dr Gwendoline Edith Lawrance in 1946.

References

* ''Who Was Who'' * 'The Hon. Mr. Justice H. J. Clayden' (1947) 64 S African LJ 317 {{DEFAULTSORT:Clayden, John 1904 births 1986 deaths Transvaal people South African expatriates in the United Kingdom South African Knights Bachelor People educated at Charterhouse School Alumni of Brasenose College, Oxford Members of the Inner Temple South African Queen's Counsel Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland judges South African expatriate judges 20th-century South African judges South African Army officers