Edward George Robey (1900 – 1983) born Edward George Wade,Wilson, p. 239. was an English barrister. He was best known for his role as the Chief Prosecutor in the

John George Haigh John George Haigh ( ; 24 July 1909 – 10 August 1949), commonly known as the Acid Bath Murderer, was an English serial killer convicted for the murder of six people, although he claimed to have killed nine. Haigh battered to death or shot his ...

case and for becoming a member of the British legal team at the Nuremberg war trials. He was appointed a Metropolitan Magistrate in 1954. He was the first child and only son of the

music hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was most popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850, through the World War I, Great War. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as Varie ...

comedian

George Robey Sir George Edward Wade, Commander of the Order of the British Empire, CBE (20 September 1869 – 29 November 1954),James Harding (music writer), Harding, James"Robey, George" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University P ...

Life and career

Robey was born in

St John's Wood St John's Wood is a district in the London Borough of Camden, London Boroughs of Camden and the City of Westminster, London, England, about 2.5 miles (4 km) northwest of Charing Cross. Historically the northern part of the Civil Parish#An ...

, London and was the first of two children of the music hall comedian

and his wife, the

musical theatre Musical theatre is a form of theatre, theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, ...

actress Ethel Haydon. From an early age, Edward showed some talent for the stage and appeared in a few minor roles as a child but gave up acting in his teenage years. He was educated at

Westminster School Westminster School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Westminster, London, England, in the precincts of Westminster Abbey. It descends from a charity school founded by Westminster Benedictines before the Norman Conquest, as do ...

, London and then

Jesus College, Cambridge Jesus College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Jesus College was established in 1496 on the site of the twelfth-century Benedictine nunnery of St Radegund's Priory, Cambridge, St ...

where he studied law.Wilson, p. 66. He furthered his studies under the barrister Edward Marshall Hall, who sponsored him when he came to the bar in 1925.Cotes, p. 62. Robey changed his surname from Wade at the start of his professional career in honour of his father and continued to use it for the rest of his life. Robey's first major law assignment was as the Chief Prosecutor in the trial of

, a serial killer who was subsequently hanged in 1949. Soon after, Robey became a member of the British legal team at the Nuremberg war trials and was later appointed a Metropolitan Magistrate in 1954.

References

Bibliography

* * 1900 births People educated at Westminster School, London Alumni of Jesus College, Cambridge Members of Gray's Inn English barristers Stipendiary magistrates (England and Wales) 1983 deaths 20th-century English lawyers {{England-law-bio-stub