Gerald Sparrow (1903–1988) was a British lawyer, judge and travel writer. He served on the International Court in

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populatio ...

, Thailand, for over 20 years. He was the president of the Club of Ten, a pro-apartheid organization, and the author of over 40 books.

Early life

Gerald Sparrow was born in 1903 in

Chapel-en-le-Frith Chapel-en-le-Frith () is a town and civil parish in the Borough of High Peak in Derbyshire, England. It has been dubbed the "Capital of the Peak", in reference to the Peak District, historically the upperland areas between the Saxon lands (bel ...

, Derbyshire. He attended

Sherborne School (God and My Right) , established = 705 by Aldhelm, re-founded by King Edward VI 1550 , closed = , type = Public school Independent, boarding school , religion = Church of England , president = , chair_label = Chairman of the governors ...

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of ...

, then Trinity Hall,

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

, where he was the president of the

Cambridge Union Society The Cambridge Union Society, also known as the Cambridge Union, is a Debate, debating and free speech society in Cambridge, England, and the largest society in the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1815, it is the oldest continuously running ...

Career

Sparrow practised as a barrister in Manchester in the mid-1920s, then (invited by the Crown Prince) emigrated to Siam (now Thailand), where he was appointed, in 1930 and aged only 26 or 27, as a judge on the International Court (which tried cases involving non-Thais) in

. He served on the court "for two decades". He was also the author of "over 40 books, mostly about travel". Sparrow was the president of the Club of Ten, a pro-apartheid organization whose members included South African, British, American businessmen. One of them was Lampas Nichas, a "South African fertiliser millionaire." However, the club was founded by

Connie Mulder Connie Mulder, born Cornelius Petrus Mulder (5 June 1925– 12 January 1988), was a South African politician, cabinet minister and father of Pieter Mulder, former leader of the Freedom Front Plus. He started his career as a teacher of Afri ...

and Eschel Rhoodie, and the real aim was to publish "advertisements in the newspapers and otherwise do publicity work extolling the policies of the South African government". Sparrow opposed the sporting boycott of South Africa in 1974. He later recanted his views.

Personal life and death

Sparrow married a Thai, and he lived in Thailand for 23 years. He was

interned Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simpl ...

under harsh conditions by the Japanese, after their 1941 invasion of Thailand (the name adopted 1939-46 and 1948–present). Sparrow resigned as a judge after the war, and opened a private law office in Bangkok, dealing mainly in commercial law. He retired in England, where he became well known for his books, particularly the long series entitled ''The Great Forgers'', ''The Great Traitors'' etc., which mixed famous and infamous criminal cases (and a few civil cases) from history with other cases which Sparrow knew, often personally, from his time in Thailand. He died in 1988.

Selected works

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References

1903 births 1988 deaths Alumni of the University of Cambridge British expatriates in Thailand English travel writers 20th-century English judges Presidents of the Cambridge Union {{England-writer-stub