Sir Patrick Reginald Evelyn Browne, PC,

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

, TD (28 May 1907 – 1 October 1996) was an English judge, who was a

Lord Justice of Appeal A Lord Justice of Appeal or Lady Justice of Appeal is a judge of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales, the court that hears appeals from the High Court of Justice, the Crown Court and other courts and tribunals. A Lord (or Lady) Just ...

between 1974 and 1980.

Biography

Patrick Browne was born in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

, the son of

Edward Granville Browne Edward Granville Browne FBA (7 February 1862 – 5 January 1926) was a British Iranologist. He published numerous articles and books, mainly in the areas of history and literature. Life Browne was born in Stouts Hill, Uley, Gloucestershire, ...

, a leading Cambridge Orientalist, and of Alice Caroline Browne, daughter of the historian Francis Henry Blackburne Daniell. His grandfather was

Sir Benjamin Chapman Browne Sir Benjamin Chapman Browne (26 August 1839 – 1 March 1917) was an engineer and shipbuilder, chairman of R. & W. Hawthorn, Leslie and Company (1886–1916), Mayor of Newcastle, (1885–1886 and 1886–1887), and deputy Lord Lieutenant of N ...

, head of the shipbuilding and engineering firm R. & W. Hawthorn, Leslie and Company. His mother died in 1925 and his father died the following year. Browne was educated at

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

, before going up to

Pembroke College, Cambridge Pembroke College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college is the third-oldest college of the university and has over 700 students and fellows. It is one of the university's larger colleges, with buildings from ...

(honorary fellow, 1975), where his father had been a fellow, in 1925, the year of his mother's death. He read Law and was

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 ...

by the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional association for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practice as a barrister in England and Wa ...

in 1931. The same year, he married Evelyn Sophie Alexandra (''d'' 1966), daughter of the archaeologist Sir Charles Walston, a family friend. They had two daughters, the elder of which was Harriet Crawford. After Evelyn's death, he married Lena Atkinson in 1977. On the outbreak 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 ...

in 1939, he joined the

Royal Horse Artillery The Royal Horse Artillery (RHA) was formed in 1793 as a distinct arm of the Royal Regiment of Artillery (commonly termed Royal Artillery) to provide horse artillery support to the cavalry units of the British Army. Although the cavalry link rem ...

, and was employed in the planning of air defence at the

War Office The War Office has referred to several British government organisations throughout history, all relating to the army. It was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, at ...

, becoming a GSO1 and a lieutenant-colonel. He was appointed an OBE (Military Division) in 1945. Returning to the bar, Browne acquired a large civil practice, mainly in planning law and parliamentary work. He became a Queen's Counsel in 1960, and was Deputy Chairman of the Essex County Quarter Sessions from 1963 to 1965. He also edited the second edition of ''Shawcross and Beaumont's Air Law''. In 1965, he was appointed a Justice of the High Court and assigned to the

Queen's Bench Division The King's Bench Division (or Queen's Bench Division when the monarch is female) of the High Court of Justice deals with a wide range of common law cases and has supervisory responsibility over certain lower courts. It hears appeals on point ...

, receiving the customary

knighthood 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 ...

. He was the first instance judge in the seminal case '' Anisminic Ltd v Foreign Compensation Commission'', where he found in favour of the plaintiffs. Reversed by the

Court of Appeal An appellate court, commonly called a court of appeal(s), appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to Hearing (law), hear a Legal case, case upon appeal from a trial court or other ...

, his judgment was restored by the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

. Unusually, his judgment in full was annexed to the Lords' judgment. He was made a

in 1974, and was sworn of the Privy Council.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Browne, Patrick Knights Bachelor 1996 deaths People from Cambridge People educated at Eton College Alumni of Pembroke College, Cambridge Members of the Inner Temple English King's Counsel 20th-century King's Counsel Royal Horse Artillery officers British Army personnel of World War II Officers of the Order of the British Empire Queen's Bench Division judges Lord justices of appeal Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom 20th-century English judges