Sir Edward John Davies (20 February 1898 – 5 October 1969)"Davies, Sir (Edward) John"
''Who Was Who'' (online edition, Oxford University Press, December 2007). Retrieved 3 April 2018. was a Welsh lawyer and colonial judge, who served as Solicitor-General of Trinidad (1935–38),

Solicitor-General A solicitor general is a government official who serves as the chief representative of the government in courtroom proceedings. In systems based on the English common law that have an attorney general or equivalent position, the solicitor general ...

(1941–46) and

Attorney-General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

(1946–55) of

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

, and Chief Justice of Tanganyika (1955–60).

Early life and education

Edward John Davies was born on 20 February 1898 to Dan Davies and his wife, Mary Elizabeth David. He attended

Llandovery College Llandovery College () is a coeducational independent boarding and day school in Llandovery, Carmarthenshire, Wales. The college consists of Gollop Preparatory, Senior School and Sixth Form. It was previously known as "Welsh College, Llandovery" ...

and the

University of Wales The University of Wales () is a confederal university based in Cardiff, Wales. Founded by royal charter in 1893 as a federal university with three constituent colleges – Aberystwyth, Bangor and Cardiff – the university was the first universit ...

Career

From 1915, Davies fought in

Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...

during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

; he then took up a legal career. After being

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

in 1922, Davies joined Sir

Patrick Hastings Sir Patrick Gardiner Hastings (17 March 1880 – 26 February 1952) was an English barrister and politician noted for his long and highly successful career as a barrister and his short stint as Attorney General. He was educated at Charterhouse ...

' chambers and was active in the London and South-West circuits."Sir John Davies", ''The Times'' (London), 14 October 1969, p. 10. In 1927, he was appointed a

Crown Counsel Crown counsel are lawyers, generally in Common Law jurisdictions, who provide advice to the government and acts as prosecutors in cases. In various jurisdictions their title can vary and they could also be known as the Queen's Advocate, King's Adv ...

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

and six years later moved to the Gold Coast as a Senior Crown Counsel. In 1935, he became Solicitor-General of Trinidad, and his obituary in ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' remarks that "The legal profession there considered Davies to be in the top class as an advocate both as regards to presentation of his cases and his manner in court". After three years, he became Deputy Legal Adviser to the

Federated Malay States The Federated Malay States (FMS, , Jawi script, Jawi: ) was a federation of four protectorate, protected states in the Malay Peninsula — Selangor, Perak, Negeri Sembilan and Pahang — established in 1895 by the British government, and whi ...

, before being appointed Solicitor-General of Singapore in 1941. The following year, the Japanese occupied the city and Davies was imprisoned at the

Changi Changi ( ) is a planning area located in the geographical region of Tanah Merah in the East Region of Singapore. Sharing borders with Pasir Ris and Tampines to the west, Changi Bay to the southeast, the South China Sea to the east and the ...

prisoner of war camp for the rest of the

Second World War 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 ...

. The year after hostilities ended, Davies was appointed Singapore's Attorney-General."Obituary", ''The Times'' (London), 13 October 1969, p. 12. In 1955, Davies was appointed Chief Justice of Tanganyika on the retirement of Sir Herbert Cox; he served in the post until retiring in 1960, when

Ralph Windham Sir Ralph Windham (25 March 1905 – 6 July 1980) was a British lawyer who held various positions in the Colonial Legal Service. He was a judge in Palestine, Ceylon, Kenya, Zanzibar and Tanganyika. While trying a case in Tel Aviv in January 194 ...

succeeded him."Chief Justice Of Tanganyika", ''The Times'' (London), 4 May 1960, p. 10. Davies, who had been appointed

Queen'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 Singapore in 1948, was

knighted 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 ...

in 1958. He died on 5 October 1969, leaving a widow, Ada Alberta Carlota de Rodriguez.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davies, John 1898 births 1969 deaths Tanganyika (territory) judges Knights Bachelor Chief justices of Tanzania 20th-century Welsh lawyers People educated at Llandovery College