Sir John Wither Awdry DL (21 October 1795 – 31 May 1878) was an English judge who worked in India.

Early life

Born at Swindon, he was the second and oldest surviving son of John Awdry and his wife Jane, the second daughter of Lovelace Bigg. Awdry 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 ...

and then at

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

. He was first in classics in 1816 and graduated with 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 ...

ten years later. In 1844, Awdry received a

Doctorate of Civil Law Doctor of Civil Law (DCL; ) is a degree offered by some universities, such as the University of Oxford, instead of the more common Doctor of Laws (LLD) degrees. At Oxford, the degree is a higher doctorate usually awarded on the basis of excepti ...

by the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

Career

Awdry was called to the bar by the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court entitled to Call to the bar, call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple (with whi ...

in 1822 and became a bencher in 1830, on whose 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 was

puisne judge Puisne judge and puisne justice () are terms for an ordinary judge or a judge of lesser rank of a particular court. The term comes from a combination of the two French words, (since, later) and (born) which have been combined as or ; meaning ...

and commissioner of the Insolvent Debtor's Court in

Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...

. In 1839, he was appointed chief justice of the

Supreme Court of Judicature at Bombay The High Court of Bombay is the high court of the states of Maharashtra and Goa in India, and the union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu. It is seated primarily at Mumbai (also known as Bombay), and is one of the oldest h ...

, resigning from this post after three years. After his return to England, Awdry served as chairman of the

Quarter Sessions The courts of quarter sessions or quarter sessions were local courts that were traditionally held at four set times each year in the Kingdom of England from 1388; they were extended to Wales following the Laws in Wales Act 1535. Scotland establ ...

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...

and represented the county as Deputy Lieutenant from 1852.

Personal life

On 29 June 1830, he married firstly Sarah Maria, eldest daughter of Jonathan Awdry, and had by her two sons and a daughter. After her death, he married Frances Ellen, second daughter of Thomas Carr on 24 July 1839. By his second wife, he had eight sons and four daughters. Awdry died at his home at Notton House. His sons included

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

, an Anglican bishop, and

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''* ...

, senior partner of W. H. Smith. He was the paternal grandfather of the writer and clergyman

Wilbert Awdry Wilbert Vere Awdry (15 June 1911 – 21 March 1997), often credited as Rev. W. Awdry, was an English Anglican minister, railway enthusiast, and children's author. He is best remembered as the creator of Thomas the Tank Engine and several other ...

Arms

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Awdry, John Wither 1795 births 1878 deaths Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Deputy lieutenants of Wiltshire Judges of the Bombay High Court Members of the Middle Temple Knights Bachelor People educated at Westminster School, London Awdry family