Sir Robert Alexander Gatehouse Escutcheon

Sir Robert Alexander Gatehouse (30 January 1924 – 30 October 2002) was a British barrister and judge. He was a Justice of the High Court (Queen's Bench Division) from 1985 to 1996.

Biography

The son of Major-General Alexander Hugh Gatehouse, he attended

Wellington College Wellington College may refer to: New Zealand * Wellington College, Wellington, New Zealand * Wellington College of Education, now the Faculty of Education of Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand * Wellington Girls' College, Wellington, N ...

, before being commissioned into the

Royal Dragoons The Royal Dragoons (1st Dragoons) was a heavy cavalry regiment of the British Army. The regiment was formed in 1661 as the Tangier Horse. It served for three centuries and was in action during the First and the Second World Wars. It was amalgam ...

during 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 ...

. He saw service in Western Europe in 1944–1945 from the

invasion of Normandy Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful liberation of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 ( D-Day) with the ...

, when he was wounded, to the German surrender. During the war, he is said to have made an enemy tank surrender at gunpoint with his pistol. Returning to civilian life, Gatehouse attended

Trinity Hall, Cambridge Trinity Hall (formally The College or Hall of the Holy Trinity in the University of Cambridge, colloquially "Tit Hall" ) is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1350, it is th ...

; among his contemporaries were

Lee Kuan Yew Lee Kuan Yew (born Harry Lee Kuan Yew; 16 September 1923 – 23 March 2015), often referred to by his initials LKY, was a Singaporean politician who ruled as the first Prime Minister of Singapore from 1959 to 1990. He is widely recognised ...

and

Kwa Geok Choo Kwa Geok Choo (; 21 December 1920 – 2 October 2010) was a Singaporean lawyer. She was the wife of Lee Kuan Yew, the founding Prime Minister of Singapore and the mother of Lee Hsien Loong, Lee Hsien Yang, and Lee Wei Ling. She was the ...

. Gatehouse 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 ...

in 1950 by

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn, commonly known as Lincoln's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for Barrister, barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister ...

and joined the chambers of John Thompson, QC, which had a general common law practice and one in personal injury. In 1955, he moved chambers to 1 Brick Court (now

Brick Court Chambers Brick Court Chambers is a set of barristers' chambers in the Temple district of central London. It specialises in commercial, EU, competition and public law. It is considered by legal commentators to be one of the 'Magic Circle' of London's most ...

), where he had a mixed practice, including appeals to the Privy Council from Commonwealth countries. 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 ...

in 1969. Among his most important cases as counsel was ''British Railways Board v Herrington''

972 Year 972 ( CMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Spring – Emperor John I Tzimiskes divides the Bulgarian territories, recently held by the Kievan Rus', into six ...

AC 877, in which he acted for the

British Railways Board The British Railways Board (BRB) was a State ownership, nationalised industry in the United Kingdom that operated from 1963 to 2001. Until 1997, it was responsible for most railway services in History of rail transport in Great Britain 1995 to d ...

. Gatehouse was appointed to the High Court in 1985 and received the customary knighthood. He was assigned to the Queen's Bench Division and tried cases in the Commercial Court.

References

* https://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/10.1093/ww/9780199540891.001.0001/ww-9780199540884-e-16855 {{DEFAULTSORT:Gatehouse, Robert Knights Bachelor 2002 deaths Queen's Bench Division judges British Army personnel of World War II People educated at Wellington College, Berkshire 1924 births 1st The Royal Dragoons officers English King's Counsel 20th-century King's Counsel Alumni of Trinity Hall, Cambridge Members of Lincoln's Inn