Sir John Verity (1892 – 9 April 1970) was a British expatriate judge who was Chief Justice of

Zanzibar Zanzibar is a Tanzanian archipelago off the coast of East Africa. It is located in the Indian Ocean, and consists of many small Island, islands and two large ones: Unguja (the main island, referred to informally as Zanzibar) and Pemba Island. ...

from 1939 until his appointment as Chief Justice of

British Guiana British Guiana was a British colony, part of the mainland British West Indies. It was located on the northern coast of South America. Since 1966 it has been known as the independent nation of Guyana. The first known Europeans to encounter Guia ...

in 1941. He was appointed

Chief Justice of Nigeria The chief justice of Nigeria or CJN is the head of the judicial arm of the government of Nigeria, and presides over the country's Supreme Court and the National Judicial Council. The current chief justice is Kudirat Kekere-Ekun who was appoi ...

in 1945.

Early life, family and education

Verity was born in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, the son of Rev. Heron Beresford Verity. He attended Vale College,

Thanet Thanet may refer to: * Isle of Thanet, a former island, now a peninsula, at the most easterly point of Kent, England * Thanet District, a local government district containing the island *Thanet College, former name of East Kent College * Thanet Ca ...

then

Diocesan College The Diocesan College (commonly known as Bishops) is a private, English medium, boarding and day high school for boys situated in the suburb of Rondebosch in Cape Town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. The school was established o ...

British Honduras British Honduras was a Crown colony on the east coast of Central America — specifically located on the southern edge of the Yucatan Peninsula from 1783 to 1964, then a self-governing colony — renamed Belize from June 1973

Career

He was appointed Puisne Judge in British Guiana in 1936. In 1939, he became Chief Justice of Zanzibar. After the end of his tenure as

(1946–54), Verity was commissioner of Law Revision,

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

and co-authored a report with Fatayi Williams on the revised laws of

Western Nigeria The former Western State of Nigeria was formed in 1967 when the Western Region was subdivided into the states of Lagos and Western State. Its capital was Ibadan, which was the capital of the old region. The largest ethnic group here are the Yoruba. ...

Personal life

On 25 February 1918, Verity married Grace Rochat, the daughter of Mabel Rochat. Grace was his first cousin; they were both grandchildren of Charles Felix Verity of Vale Lodge, Winkfield Berkshire.Glamorgan Archives, Verity Family Records DXCB/4/1

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Verity, John 1892 births 1970 deaths British expatriates in British Guiana British expatriates in British Nigeria British expatriates in the Sultanate of Zanzibar Chief justices of Nigeria Chief justices of Tanzania Lawyers from London People from colonial Nigeria 20th-century English lawyers