Denis Martin Cowley QC (30 January 1919 – 28 June 1985) was a British barrister and judge.

Biography

Cowley was born in Belfast, a son of Sir

William Percy Cowley William is a masculine given name of Norman French origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conqu ...

CBE, also a Liberal and a Deemster on the Isle of Man. He was educated at Radley College and Exeter College, Oxford where he received a Master of Arts (Hons Jurisprudence). In 1940 he married Margaret Hazel Teare, of

Ramsey, Isle of Man Ramsey ( gv, Rhumsaa) is a coastal town in the north of the Isle of Man. It is the second largest town on the island after Douglas. Its population is 7,845 according to the 2016 Census. It has one of the biggest harbours on the island, and has ...

. They had one son and two daughters. Cowley served during the war as a Sergeant and then a Flight Lieutenant in the

Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve The Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR) was established in 1936 to support the preparedness of the U.K. Royal Air Force in the event of another war. The Air Ministry intended it to form a supplement to the Royal Auxiliary Air Force (RAuxAF ...

from 1939–45. His spitfire was shot down over the English Channel and he was taken prisoner. He was a prisoner of war in Germany from 1941 to 1944. While a prisoner he studied law. He made numerous attempts to escape and succeeded in reaching

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

where he was held by the authorities. He made a further escape to France, where the French Resistance helped him to link up with the Allied Forces. Cowley was

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 ...

by the Inner Temple in 1946. He based himself in Nottingham and practised on the Midland Circuit. In 1965 he became a Queen's Counsel. In 1969 he became Deputy Senior Judge on the Midland and Oxford Circuit. In 1972 he became a Bencher. In 1973 he successfully acted for the

Douglas Corporation Douglas may refer to: People * Douglas (given name) * Douglas (surname) Animals *Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking *Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civil W ...

at the Summerland fire disaster inquiry. In 1974 he became a Recorder of the Crown Court. In 1979 he was leading counsel for John Le Mesurier in Thorpe affair trial at the

Old Bailey The Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, commonly referred to as the Old Bailey after the street on which it stands, is a criminal court building in central London, one of several that house the Crown Court of England and Wales. The s ...

. During the trial, Cowley advised Le Mesurier that his best chance of acquittal was by giving evidence that could harm the other defendants, including Jeremy Thorpe. However, Le Measurier chose not to and was acquitted along with the other defendants. In 1982 he became Senior Judge in the Sovereign Base Areas, Cyprus. In 1984 he was appointed to the Mental Health Appeal Tribunal. In August 1949 Cowley was chosen as Liberal candidate for the Brigg division of Lincolnshire and contested the 1950 General Election, standing against

Lance Mallalieu Sir Edward Lancelot Mallalieu (14 March 1905 – 11 November 1979), known as Lance Mallalieu, was a British politician. Of Huguenot origin, a son of Frederick Mallalieu, a Member of Parliament, Mallalieu's ancestors had settled at Saddleworth ...

, a former Liberal MP who held the seat for the Labour Party. The Liberal Party did not have much of a track record in the constituency and did not even contest the

1948 Brigg by-election The 1948 Brigg by-election was a by-election held on 24 March 1948 for the British House of Commons constituency of Brigg in Lincolnshire. The by-election was triggered by the resignation of the constituency's Labour Party Member of Parliamen ...

. He finished third, though he did manage to save his deposit. He did not stand for parliament again.British parliamentary election results 1950-1973, Craig, F.W.S. In 1985 he died in Castletown, Isle of Man at the age of 66.

Electoral results

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cowley, Denis Martin 1919 births 1985 deaths Liberal Party (UK) parliamentary candidates Alumni of Exeter College, Oxford 20th-century King's Counsel 20th-century English judges Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II People educated at Radley College