His Honour Michael Victor Argyle, (31 August 1915 – 4 January 1999) was a British judge at the Central Criminal Court of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1988. Earlier, as a barrister, he defended

Ronnie Biggs Ronald Arthur Biggs (8 August 1929 – 18 December 2013) was an English criminal who helped plan and carry out the Great Train Robbery of 1963. He subsequently became notorious for his escape from prison in 1965, living as a fugitive for 36 y ...

and, as a judge, presided at the ''Oz'' obscenity trial.

Early life

Michael Argyle was born in

Tamworth, Staffordshire Tamworth (, ) is a market town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Staffordshire, England, north-east of Birmingham. The town borders North Warwickshire to the east and south, Lichfield District, Lichfield to the north, south- ...

in England. He received his formal education at Shardlow Hall prep school,

Westminster School Westminster School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Westminster, London, England, in the precincts of Westminster Abbey. It descends from a charity school founded by Westminster Benedictines before the Norman Conquest, as do ...

, and obtained a degree in the Law at

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 began practising as a Barrister in 1938. 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 served as a commissioned officer with the 7th Queen's Own Hussars, in India and the Italian theatres, being awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level until 1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) Other ranks (UK), other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth of ...

for his leadership in an opposed crossing of the

River Po The Po ( , ) is the longest river in Italy. It flows eastward across northern Italy, starting from the Cottian Alps. The river's length is , or if the Maira, a right bank tributary, is included. The headwaters of the Po are formed by a spring ...

in 1945.Obituary, 'The Independent', 7 January 1999. https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/obituary-judge-michael-argyle-1045453.html He was discharged from the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

in 1947. He was an active member of the Conservative Party, and seeking access to Parliament he stood unsuccessfully for the Party in

Belper Belper () is a town and civil parish in the local government district of Amber Valley in Derbyshire, England, located about north of Derby on the River Derwent. Along with Belper, the parish includes the village of Milford and the hamlets ...

in the 1950 general election, and again in the

Loughborough Loughborough ( ) is a market town in the Charnwood (borough), Charnwood Borough of Leicestershire, England; it is the administrative centre of Charnwood Borough Council. At the United Kingdom 2021 census, the town's built-up area had a popula ...

constituency in the 1955 General Election.

Legal career

Having been called to the Bar in 1938, he became a

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 ...

at the age of 36. As a barrister he gained press interest for his defence of

in his trial for the Great Train Robbery. After graduating from practising law into the ranks of the judiciary in 1962, Argyle found himself at odds judicially with elements of the counter-cultural zeitgeist that increasingly dominated English society as the 1960s progressed, reciprocating in kind the animosity he attracted from its proponents in the public sphere with statements and decisions made from his bench which refused to yield to the pervading air of Socialistic relativism and permissiveness, and as a judge representing a judicial authoritarianism from the earlier half of the 20th century. As a judge, he is best remembered for his role during the ''Oz'' obscenity trial, in which the three ''Oz'' editors ( Richard Neville, Jim Anderson and

Felix Dennis Felix Dennis (27 May 194722 June 2014) was an English publisher, poet, spoken-word performer, and philanthropist. His company, Dennis Publishing, pioneered computer and hobbyist magazine publishing in the United Kingdom. In more recent times, t ...

) were tried on three charges, including "conspiracy to corrupt public morals", an offence which, in theory, carried a virtually unlimited penalty. The three defendants were found guilty, with Argyle sentencing Neville and Anderson to serve a term of imprisonment with hard labour, but the convictions were subsequently overturned on appeal, when it was found that Argyle had misdirected the trial jury on several occasions. At the time of Argyle's sentencing in the ''Oz'' trial, he had given Dennis a reduced punishment on the basis of his "lower intelligence". In 1995, Dennis, by now a millionaire publisher, won a libel action against ''

The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British political and cultural news magazine. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving magazine in the world. ''The Spectator'' is politically conservative, and its principal subject a ...

''. In an article published on 20 May 1995, Argyle had claimed Dennis and his ''Oz'' co-defendants had imported and peddled drugs to school children, and also implied that they were behind threats against his life which had obliged him to stay in a hotel during the trial, guarded by armed Special Branch police. ''The Spectator'' donated £10,000 to two charities nominated by Dennis, in lieu of damages. However he declined to sue Argyle personally, commenting: "Oh, I don't want to make him a martyr of the Right: there's no glory to be had in suing an 80-year-old man and taking his house away from him. It was just a totally obvious libel." He retired from the Bench in 1987, after receiving a public reprimand from the

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 ...

for public statements that foreign immigration into the United Kingdom was out of control, and that

Capital Punishment Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence (law), sentence ordering that an offender b ...

should be reintroduced into England's judicial system for certain crimes.

Death

Argyle died at 84 on 4 January 1999 at

Fiskerton, Nottinghamshire Fiskerton is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Fiskerton cum Morton, in the Newark and Sherwood district, in the county of Nottinghamshire, England. It is on the west bank of the River Trent about 3 miles southeast of Sout ...

Personal life

Argyle married Ann Newton in 1951, the marriage producing three daughters.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Argyle, Michael 1915 births 1999 deaths 20th-century English judges Conservative Party (UK) parliamentary candidates People educated at Shardlow Hall Recipients of the Military Cross English King's Counsel British Army personnel of World War II 7th Queen's Own Hussars officers People educated at Westminster School, London People from Tamworth, Staffordshire Military personnel from Staffordshire