Sir Reginald Powell Croom-Johnson (27 July 1879 – 29 December 1957) was a British barrister, judge, and

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

Member of Parliament for

Bridgwater Bridgwater is a historic market town and civil parish in Somerset, England. The town had a population of 41,276 at the 2021 census. Bridgwater is at the edge of the Somerset Levels, in level and well-wooded country. The town lies along both sid ...

. He was a noted philatelist with a specialist collection of the stamps of the British Solomon Islands.

Biography

Reginald Croom-Johnson was born at Clifton, Bristol, on 27 July 1879 to Oliver Croom-Johnson (1854–1925), of 36, St John's Road, Clifton, a director of a grain warehousing company, and his wife Agnes Emma Jane (née White). He was educated at

Bristol Cathedral School Bristol Cathedral Choir School is a mixed gender non-selective musical Secondary Academy, located in the Cabot area of Bristol, England. Until 2008 it was Bristol Cathedral School, part of Bristol Cathedral, in the centre of the city. The chor ...

and London University (LLB). Croom-Johnson began his career as a

solicitor A solicitor is a lawyer who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and enabled to p ...

in 1901. He was called to the bar, Inner Temple, in 1907 and appointed Kings Counsel in 1927. He was recorder of Bath 1928–38. From October 1938 to January 1954, he was a judge in the

King'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 ...

of the High Court of Justice. Later, he was a justice of the peace for Somerset and deputy chairman of the Quarter Sessions.CROOM-JOHNSON, Hon. Sir Reginald Powell.
''Who Was Who'', A & C Black, online edition, Oxford University Press, 2014. Accessed 8 October 2017. During the First World War he assisted in raising the Old Boys' Corps. He was a lieutenant in the

King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry The King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry (KOYLI) was a Light infantry, light infantry regiment of the British Army. It officially existed from 1881 to 1968, but its predecessors go back to 1755. In 1968, the regiment was amalgamated with the Somers ...

and subsequently attached to the Judge Advocate-General's Department for special services in connection with the Mesopotamia Commission. In 1929, he was elected the

Member of Parliament (MP) for

. In 1938, he resigned his seat after being appointed a justice of the High Court. His resignation precipitated the

1938 Bridgwater by-election The 1938 Bridgwater by-election was a by-election, parliamentary by-election for the British House of Commons United Kingdom constituencies, constituency of Bridgwater (UK Parliament constituency), Bridgwater, Somerset held on 17 November 1938. ...

. Croom-Johnson died at age 78 at his home, Hillbrook House, at

Trull Trull is a village, Wards and electoral divisions of the United Kingdom, electoral ward and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Somerset, England, situated near Taunton. The parish, which includes Dipford and Staplehay, has a population ...

, near

Taunton Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England. It is a market town and has a Minster (church), minster church. Its population in 2011 was 64,621. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century priory, monastic foundation, owned by the ...

, Somerset, on 29 December 1957.

Family

He married Ruby Ernestine, daughter of Edwin Ernest Hobbs, in 1909; they had three sons, the second of whom, Oliver Powell Croom-Johnson, was killed on active service in 1940, the youngest son being Sir David Powell Croom-Johnson (1914-2000), who served as 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 ...

from 1984 to 1989.

Other activities

Croom-Johnson was a noted philatelist with a specialised collection of the stamps of the

British Solomon Islands The British Solomon Islands Protectorate was first established in June 1893, when Captain Herbert Gibson of declared the southern Solomon Islands a British protectorate.''Commonwealth and Colonial Law'' by Kenneth Roberts-Wray, London, S ...

and wrote a book on that subject that was published in 1927. He also wrote a hobby guide to stamp collecting. While still a junior barrister, he represented Jonas Lek in 1926 in his claim against his insurers for items lost from a valuable stamp collection."Obituary: Sir Reginald Croom-Johnson", ''

Gibbons Stamp Monthly ''Gibbons Stamp Monthly'' (''GSM'') is a British philatelic magazine which can trace its roots back to 1890. GSM is published by the famous stamps and collectables firm of Stanley Gibbons and each issue includes updates to their various catalogues ...

'', Vol. 31, No. 6 (February 1958), p. 71. Croom-Johnson was the chairman of the original committee for the foundation of

Stowe School The Stowe School is a public school (English private boarding school) for pupils aged 13–18 in the countryside of Stowe, England. It was opened on 11 May, 1923 at Stowe House, a Grade I Heritage Estate belonging to the British Crown. ...

and wrote a book about its origins that was published in 1953. He was a member of the Carlton and Garrick clubs. He was a member of the council of the Men of the Trees.

Selected publications

* ''Postage-Stamp Collecting ... Illustrated''. Bazaar, Exchange & Mart, London, 1923. * ''Stamps of the British Solomon Islands (les timbres-poste des Iles Salomon)''. Editrice Filatelica (Collana di Pubblicazioni Filateliche 16), Turin, 1928. * ''The origin of Stowe School''. W.S. Cowell, Ipswich & London, 1953.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Croom-Johnson, Reginald 1879 births 1957 deaths English solicitors Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1929–1931 UK MPs 1931–1935 UK MPs 1935–1945 British philatelists People educated at Bristol Cathedral Choir School Alumni of the University of London English barristers English justices of the peace English knights King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry officers British Army personnel of World War I Lawyers from Bristol Knights Bachelor