Sir Gerald Alfred Thesiger, MBE (25 December 1902 – 16 April 1981) was a judge of the High Court of England and Wales of 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 ...

between 1958 and 1978.

Early life and education

Thesiger was born on Christmas Day 1902 in

Holyport Holyport (pronounced ''Hollyport'') is a suburban village in the civil parish of Bray (where at the 2011 Census the population was included), about south of Maidenhead town centre in the English county of Berkshire. Etymology The name 'Hol ...

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...

. He was the son of Major-General George Handcock Thesiger and his wife, Frances Fremantle, daughter of General Fitzroy William Fremantle. He was educated at

Gresham's School Gresham's School is a private school (English fee-charging boarding and day school) in Holt, Norfolk, England, one of the top thirty International Baccalaureate schools in England. The school was founded in 1555 by Sir John Gresham as a f ...

, Holt,

Magdalen College Magdalen College ( ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by Bishop of Winchester William of Waynflete. It is one of the wealthiest Oxford colleges, as of 2022, and one of the strongest academically, se ...

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

(1922–1925), and 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 association for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practice as a barrister in England and Wa ...

. Thesiger's grandfather was Lt.-General the Hon. Charles Wemyss Thesiger, a younger son of a

Lord Chancellor The Lord Chancellor, formally titled Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom. The lord chancellor is the minister of justice for England and Wales and the highest-ra ...

Frederic Thesiger, 1st Baron Chelmsford Frederic Thesiger, 1st Baron Chelmsford, PC, FRS (25 April 1794 – 5 October 1878) was a British jurist and Conservative politician. He was twice Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain. Early life Born in London, Thesiger was the third son o ...

. The British general

Frederic Thesiger, 2nd Baron Chelmsford General Frederic Augustus Thesiger, 2nd Baron Chelmsford, (31 May 18279 April 1905) was a British Army officer who rose to prominence during the Anglo-Zulu War, when an expeditionary force under his command suffered a decisive defeat at the ha ...

, and the judge

Alfred Henry Thesiger Alfred Henry Thesiger (15 July 1838 – 20 October 1880), styled The Hon. Alfred Thesiger from 1858 to 1877 and The Rt Hon. Lord Justice Thesiger from 1877, was a British lawyer and judge. Early life Thesiger was the third son of Lord Chancellor ...

(one of the youngest

Lords Justices 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) Justic ...

in history) were his great-uncles.

Career

In 1926, he was called to the Bar as a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

. He was appointed

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 ...

Rye Rye (''Secale cereale'') is a grass grown extensively as a grain, a cover crop and a forage crop. It is grown principally in an area from Eastern and Northern Europe into Russia. It is much more tolerant of cold weather and poor soil than o ...

in 1937. During

World War II 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 ...

, he was commissioned as a Major in the Office of the Judge Advocate General, and was appointed Recorder of

Hastings Hastings ( ) is a seaside town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to th ...

in 1942. He entered local government in London, initially as a member of Fulham Borough Council from 1934 to 1937 and then of Chelsea Borough Council from 1937 to 1958. He was Mayor of Chelsea from 1944 to 1946. He took silk as a

King'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 1948 and was appointed Recorder of

Southend-on-Sea Southend-on-Sea (), commonly referred to as Southend (), is a coastal city and unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in south-eastern Essex, England. It lies on the nor ...

in 1952. He became a Bencher of the Inner Temple in 1956 and served as a High Court

Judge A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...

of the

between 1958 and 1978.

Personal life

On 28 July 1932, Thesiger married Marjorie Ellen Guille, daughter of Raymond Guille of

Long Island, New York Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

, and they had three daughters, Oonah Caroline Thesiger (born 1936), Virginia Mary (born 1941, died 1972), and Juliet Elizabeth (born 1943).

Honours

*Member of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

, 1946 *

Knight 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 ...

, 1958 *President of the British Academy of Forensic Sciences

Publications

*''The Judge and the Expert Witness'' in ''Medicine, Science and the Law'', 1975, volume 15

References

1902 births 1981 deaths Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford 20th-century English judges English King's Counsel Knights Bachelor Mayors of places in Greater London Members of the Order of the British Empire People educated at Gresham's School Queen's Bench Division judges 20th-century King's Counsel Members of Chelsea Metropolitan Borough Council

Gerald Gerald is a masculine given name derived from the Germanic languages prefix ''ger-'' ("spear") and suffix ''-wald'' ("rule"). Gerald is a Norman French variant of the Germanic name. An Old English equivalent name was Garweald, the likely original ...

British military personnel of World War II Military personnel from Berkshire {{England-mayor-stub