His Honour Ian Stevenson Webster (20 March 1925 – 9 March 2002), was a British Judge and briefly a

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a l ...

politician.

Background

He was a son of Harvey Webster and Annabella Stevenson McBain. He was educated at Rochdale Grammar School and

Manchester University , mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity , established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Unive ...

. In 1951 he married Margaret Sharples. They had two sons Alistair and Robin. The elder son, Alistair, is a QC and a Recorder. The younger son, Robin, is the Chief Risk Officer for an insurance company.

World War Two

In 1943 Webster joined the

Fleet Air Arm The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy and is responsible for the delivery of naval air power both from land and at sea. The Fleet Air Arm operates the F-35 Lightning II for maritime strike, the AW159 Wil ...

of the Royal Navy as a pilot. In 1944 he became a Sub-Lieutenant in the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve. He was attached to the first night fighter squadron formed by the Navy and saw active service in the North Atlantic. He left the Navy in 1946.

Political career

He was Liberal candidate for the

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas, Lancashire, River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the nor ...

division of Lancashire at the 1950 General Election. He was the first Liberal candidate to contest Wigan since 1918. The 1950 elections were tough for Liberal candidates and he finished third; He did not stand for parliament again.

Professional career

Webster qualified as a Barrister and in 1948 received a Call to the Bar by the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn ...

. Basing himself in his home town of

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...

, he worked on the Northern Circuit. In 1970 he became Assistant Recorder of

Oldham Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, amid the Pennines and between the rivers Irk and Medlock, southeast of Rochdale and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, w ...

. In 1971 he became Assistant Recorder of

Salford Salford () is a city and the largest settlement in the City of Salford metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. In 2011, Salford had a population of 103,886. It is also the second and only other city in the metropolitan county afte ...

. In 1972 he became a Recorder of the Crown Court. In 1976 he became Chairman of the Industrial Tribunals for Manchester. In 1981 he became a Circuit Judge, first as Liaison Judge for the Burnley, Reedley and Accrington Benches. In 1985 he became Resident Judge for Burnley. In 1987 he became Liaison Judge for the Rochdale, Middleton and Heywood Benches. In 1991 he became Hon. Recorder for Burnley. He retired in 1995.‘WEBSTER, His Honour Ian Stevenson’, Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2014; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2014 ; online edn, April 201
accessed 3 Nov 2014
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Webster, Ian Stevenson 1925 births 2002 deaths Liberal Party (UK) parliamentary candidates Alumni of the University of Manchester Fleet Air Arm personnel of World War II Fleet Air Arm aviators Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II Royal Navy officers of World War II