Sir Ernest Bruce Charles,

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(1871 – 3 May 1950) was an English barrister and High Court judge from 1928 to 1947.

Biography

Ernest Charles was the son of the High Court judge Sir Arthur Charles. He was educated at

Clifton College ''The spirit nourishes within'' , established = 160 years ago , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent boarding and day school , religion = Christian , president = , head_label = Head of College , hea ...

and

New College, Oxford New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as its feeder school, New College is one of the oldest colleges at ...

, where he read Jurisprudence. He was called to the Bar at 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 W ...

in 1896, and acquired a large general practice on the Western Circuit and in London. He was appointed a

King's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister or ...

in 1913 and became a

Bencher A bencher or Master of the Bench is a senior member of an Inn of Court in England and Wales or the Inns of Court in Northern Ireland, or the Honorable Society of King's Inns in Ireland. Benchers hold office for life once elected. A bencher ca ...

of his Inn in 1922. Although he was above military age, on the outbreak of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fig ...

, Charles abandoned his practice for war service, initially as an ambulance driver, then as part of the inquiry teams who tried to trace those missing in action. He eventually became Director of the Wounded and Missing Inquiry Department at

Le Havre Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, ver ...

. For his wartime service, Charles was

mentioned in dispatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

in 1917, created a Knight of Grace of the Order of St John in April 1918 and appointed a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

in 1919. Returning to the Bar after the war, Charles once again built up a large practice, chiefly before juries. In 1923, he defended Dr Halliday Sutherland against a charge of libel by

Marie Stopes Marie Charlotte Carmichael Stopes (15 October 1880 – 2 October 1958) was a British author, palaeobotanist and campaigner for eugenics and women's rights. She made significant contributions to plant palaeontology and coal classification ...

. In 1924, he represented General O'Dwyer in a libel action against Sir Sankaran Nair. He also had a general retainer for the

Corporation of London The City of London Corporation, officially and legally the Mayor and Commonalty and Citizens of the City of London, is the municipal governing body of the City of London, the historic centre of London and the location of much of the United King ...

in rating cases. Charles was Recorder of

Bournemouth Bournemouth () is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council area of Dorset, England. At the 2011 census, the town had a population of 183,491, making it the largest town in Dorset. It is situated on the English ...

from 1915 to 1924 and Recorder of

Southampton Southampton () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire, S ...

from 1924 to 1928. He was appointed a Justice of the High Court on 17 February 1928, and was assigned to the

King'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 ...

, receiving the customary

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

. In 1945, he tried U. S. Army deserver Karl Hultén and waitress Elizabeth Jones for the

Cleft chin murder The cleft chin murder was a killing which occurred as part of a string of crimes during 1944, and was mentioned in George Orwell's essay " Decline of the English Murder". It became known as the "cleft chin murder" because the murder victim, George ...

. He retired on 5 April 1947. Like his father, Charles had an interest in ecclesiastical law. He was

Commissary General A commissary is a government official charged with oversight or an ecclesiastical official who exercises in special circumstances the jurisdiction of a bishop. In many countries, the term is used as an administrative or police title. It often c ...

of the Diocese of Canterbury,

Chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

of Wakefield and Hereford from 1912 to 1928, and Chancellor of Chelmsford from 1922 to 1928. He was a noted local philanthropist in

Deal A deal, or deals may refer to: Places United States * Deal, New Jersey, a borough * Deal, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * Deal Lake, New Jersey Elsewhere * Deal Island (Tasmania), Australia * Deal, Kent, a town in England * Deal, a ...

, who helped to establish the local rowing and football clubs. The football ground and two streets in the town are named after him. A blue plaque in his honour was unveiled in 2018.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Charles, Ernest 1871 births 1950 deaths People educated at Clifton College Alumni of New College, Oxford Members of the Inner Temple English King's Counsel 20th-century King's Counsel Queen's Bench Division judges Knights Bachelor Commanders of the Order of the British Empire