Sir David Powell Croom-Johnson,

DSC DSC or Dsc may refer to: Education * Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) * District Selection Committee, an entrance exam in India * Doctor of Surgical Chiropody, superseded in the 1960s by Doctor of Podiatric Medicine Educational institutions * Dyal Sin ...

, VRD (28 November 1914 – 21 November 2000) was a British barrister and judge who served as 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 ...

from 1984 to 1989.

Biography

Born in

Cheam Cheam () is a suburb of London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is divided into North Cheam, Cheam Village and South Cheam. Cheam Village contains the listed buildings Lumley Chapel and the 16th-century Whitehall. It is adjacent to t ...

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

, Croom-Johnson was the son of politician and High Court judge Sir Reginald Croom-Johnson. He was educated at

The Hall School, Hampstead The Hall School is an independent boys' preparatory school in Belsize Park, Hampstead, north London, teaching boys aged 4 to 13. Description The school, across its three buildings, a new one being built currently, has a roll of over 432 boys ...

Stowe School The Stowe School is a public school (English private boarding school) for pupils aged 13–18 in the countryside of Stowe, England. It was opened on 11 May, 1923 at Stowe House, a Grade I Heritage Estate belonging to the British Crown. ...

, and

Trinity Hall, Cambridge Trinity Hall (formally The College or Hall of the Holy Trinity in the University of Cambridge, colloquially "Tit Hall" ) is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1350, it is th ...

, where he read English and law. He was called to the bar by

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 1938. Having joined the chambers of Montague Berryman KC at 12

King's Bench Walk King's Bench Walk is a street in Temple, in the City of London. It is mainly made up of barristers' chambers. History King's Bench Walk is located in the Inner Temple, one of the four Inns of Court. The other three Inns of Court are Middle Temp ...

, he practised common law on the Western Circuit. Having joined the

Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family or royalty Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Roya ...

in 1936, he served in the battleship HMS ''Barham'', then in minesweepers for most of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. In 1940, abroad HMS ''Ross'', he participated in

Operation Dynamo Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...

, the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force from

Dunkirk Dunkirk ( ; ; ; Picard language, Picard: ''Dunkèke''; ; or ) is a major port city in the Departments of France, department of Nord (French department), Nord in northern France. It lies from the Belgium, Belgian border. It has the third-larg ...

. During the

D-Day landings The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during the Second World War. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

, Croom-Johnson commanded the minesweeper HMS ''Peterhead'' at Utah Beach. For his services in Normandy he received the

Distinguished Service Cross The Distinguished Service Cross (D.S.C.) is a military decoration for courage. Different versions exist for different countries. *Distinguished Service Cross (Australia) *Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom) *Distinguished Service Cross (U ...

. Returning to the bar in 1946, Croom-Johnson was made a

Queen'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 1958. He was

Recorder Recorder or The Recorder may refer to: Newspapers * ''Indianapolis Recorder'', a weekly newspaper * ''The Recorder'' (Massachusetts newspaper), a daily newspaper published in Greenfield, Massachusetts, US * ''The Recorder'' (Port Pirie), a newsp ...

Winchester Winchester (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs N ...

from 1962 to 1971 and a Judge of the Courts of Appeal of Jersey and Guernsey from 1966 to 1971. In 1971, following in the steps of his father, Croom-Johnson was appointed a Justice of the High Court, assigned to the

Queen's Bench Division The King's Bench Division (or Queen's Bench Division when the monarch is female) of the High Court of Justice deals with a wide range of common law cases and has supervisory responsibility over certain lower courts. It hears appeals on point ...

and receiving the customary

knighthood A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

. He presided over several high-profile criminal trials. In 1977 he presided over the trial of the IRA leader Vincent Donnelly for carrying out the

West Ham station attack The West Ham station attack was a bombing and shooting attack at West Ham station in east London on 15 March 1976. A bomb on a Metropolitan line train exploded prematurely in the front carriage of the train, injuring seven passengers. The bomb ...

. In 1982 he presided over the trial of the Soviet spy

Hugh Hambleton Hugh George Hambleton (1922–1995) was a Canadian and British economist and a spy in the service of the Soviet Union. Biography Hambleton was born in Canada to an English father and he held dual citizenship, Canadian and British.Richard C. S. ...

. In 1983 he presided over the trials of the police officers who shot

Stephen Waldorf Stephen Waldorf was shot and seriously injured by police officers in London on 14 January 1983 after they mistook him for David Martin, an escaped criminal. The shooting caused a public outcry and led to a series of reforms to the training and ...

, and the serial killer

Dennis Nilsen Dennis Andrew Nilsen (23 November 1945 – 12 May 2018) was a Scottish serial killer and Necrophilia, necrophile who murdered at least twelve young men and boys between 1978 and 1983. Convicted at the Old Bailey of six counts of murder and two ...

. From 1978 to 1982 he chaired the Report of the Tribunal of Inquiry on the

Crown Agents Crown Agents Ltd is a not-for-profit international development company with head office in London, United Kingdom, and subsidiaries in the United States and Japan. Incorporated as a private limited company Crown Agents Ltd has only one shareholde ...

. He was appointed a

in 1984 and was sworn of the Privy Council. He retired from the bench in 1989.

Personal life

Croom-Johnson married Barbara Douglas Warren in 1940; they had one daughter.

In popular culture

Croom-Johnson was portrayed by

Ken Bones Ken Bones (born 11 June 1947) is an English actor. He is a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company. Career Theatre Bones trained at RADA between 1971 and 1973, where he won the Honours Diploma, the Ronson Prize, the Kendal Award, the Poel P ...

in '' Des'', a 2020 docudrama focusing on

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Croom-Johnson, David Knights Bachelor 2000 deaths People educated at The Hall School, Hampstead People educated at Stowe School Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Members of Gray's Inn English barristers English King's Counsel Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom) Queen's Bench Division judges Lord justices of appeal Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom 1914 births 20th-century English lawyers Royal Navy officers of World War II 20th-century King's Counsel