Sir Helenus Patrick Joseph Milmo, DL (born Helenus Padraic Seosamh Milmo; 24 August 1908 – 30 August 1988)"Ireland, Civil Registration Indexes, 1845–1958" index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/FBPQ-R6B; accessed 12 March 2014), BIRTHS entry for Helenus Padraic Seosamh Milmo; citing Limerick, July–September 1908, vol. 5, p. 334, General Registry, Custom House, Dublin; FHL microfilm 101072. was an Irish lawyer in Britain and High Court judge.

Early life and education

He was born in

County Limerick County Limerick () is a western Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Reg ...

, Ireland on 24 August 1908, the third son of Daniel and Kathleen (née White) Milmo, but spent his early years in Furbogh, Galway Gaeltacht. Milmo attended St. Gerard's School,

Downside School Downside School (formally The College of St Gregory the Great, Downside but simply referred to as Downside) is an 11–18 mixed, Roman Catholic, independent, day and boarding school in Stratton-on-the-Fosse, Somerset, England. It was establish ...

and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

; he was called to the

Bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar ** Chocolate bar * Protein bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a laye ...

and was later appointed QC in 1961.

Career

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 ...

, Milmo was a member of

MI5 MI5 ( Military Intelligence, Section 5), officially the Security Service, is the United Kingdom's domestic counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), Gov ...

."Nobody is talking"
''The Guardian'', 18 February 2005 Having previously worked under

Kim Philby Harold Adrian Russell "Kim" Philby (1 January 191211 May 1988) was a British intelligence officer and a double agent for the Soviet Union. In 1963, he was revealed to be a member of the Cambridge Five, a spy ring that had divulged British secr ...

, Milmo was selected to investigate Philby in 1951, when Philby's espionage became increasingly obvious. Milmo failed to elicit definitive answers and concluded "that Philby is and has been for many years a Soviet agent. But the case remained unproven." Milmo's peers were not entirely forgiving. "Some felt", wrote

Peter Carter-Ruck Peter Frederick Carter-Ruck (26 February 1914 – 19 December 2003) was an English Solicitor in England and Wales, solicitor, specialising in libel cases. The firm he founded, Carter-Ruck, is still practising. Biography Personal life Carter-R ...

when Milmo died in 1988, "that he was perhaps too much of a gentleman for that daunting task." Milmo was appointed to the High Court in 1964.

Personal life

Milmo married Joan Frances Morley, the second daughter of Francis Morley of Sloan Court, London, in 1933. The couple had five children: * Deirdre (born 1934) * Patrick, KC (born 1938), a barrister * Verity (born 1941) * Shaun (born 1943), a journalist * Patricia (born 1949/1950), a solicitor; she married Bennett Umunna in 1976 His grandson

Chuka Umunna Chuka Harrison Umunna (; born 17 October 1978) is a British businessman and former politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Streatham from 2010 until 2019. A former member of the Labour Party, he was part of the Shadow Cabine ...

has been a British Member of Parliament. His other grandchildren include journalists Cahal and Daniel Milmo, and Marc, investment banker and Director at

finnCap finnCap Group, comprising finnCap Capital Markets and finnCap Cavendish, is a British investment bank, financial services firm, and a corporate and institutional stockbroker, based in London. It provides strategic advisory and capital raising ser ...

. Joan Milmo died in 1978, aged 71, from undisclosed causes. Helenus Milmo's second marriage, in 1980, was to Mrs Anne Brand, the widow of Francis Bernard Brand. Mrs Brand was born Anne Gilmore O'Connell, the daughter of Maurice William O'Connell. Anne, Lady Milmo (born 27 May 1907 – died 28 November 2003) died at age 96.Notice of death of Anne, Lady Milmo
groups.google.com; accessed 30 November 2014. Sir Helenus Milmo died in 1988 in

Chichester Chichester ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in the Chichester District, Chichester district of West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher ...

, West Sussex.

References

External links

Image at National Portrait Gallery (NPG)
npg.org.uk; accessed 30 November 2014. {{DEFAULTSORT:Milmo, Helenus 1908 births 1988 deaths Lawyers from County Limerick Lawyers from County Galway Queen's Bench Division judges MI5 personnel Knights Bachelor 20th-century King's Counsel People educated at Downside School People from Chichester Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Date of death missing People educated at St Gerard's School, Bray 20th-century Irish lawyers