Sir Roger Jocelyn Parker (25 February 1923 – 21 May 2011) was a British barrister and judge. He 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 ...

from 1983 to 1992.

Biography

Early life

Parker was the son of

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

The Honourable ''The Honourable'' (Commonwealth English) or ''The Honorable'' (American English; American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, see spelling differences) (abbreviation: ''Hon.'', ''Hon'ble'', or variations) is an honorific Style ...

Trevor Tempest Parker,

DSC DSC or Dsc may refer to: Education * Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) * District Selection Committee, an entrance exam in India * Doctor of Surgical Chiropody, superseded in the 1960s by Doctor of Podiatric Medicine Educational institutions * Dyal Sin ...

, RN and Marieka Louise Leonie, ''née'' Kleinwort, of the Kleinwort banking family. Both his grandfather,

Robert Parker, Baron Parker of Waddington Robert John Parker, Baron Parker of Waddington, PC (25 February 1857 – 12 July 1918) was a British judge who served as Lord of Appeal in Ordinary. He has been described as "one of the most esteemed judges of the early twentieth century." ...

, and his uncle,

Hubert Parker, Baron Parker of Waddington Hubert Lister Parker, Baron Parker of Waddington, (28 May 1900 – 15 September 1972) was a British judge who served as Lord Chief Justice of England from 1958 to 1971. His term was marked by much less controversy than that of his predecessor ...

, were senior judges. Parker grew up in London and Sussex. He 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 serving in the

Rifle Brigade The Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own) was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army formed in January 1800 as the "Experimental Corps of Riflemen" to provide sharpshooters, scouts, and skirmishers. They were soon renamed the "Rifle ...

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 ...

. Parker saw action in Italy and Austria, attained the rank of

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

, and was

mentioned in dispatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face of t ...

Legal career

After the war, he read Law at

King's College, Cambridge King's College, formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, is a List of colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college lies beside the River Cam and faces ...

, 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 ...

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 ...

in 1948. He joined the chambers of John Ashworth, a commercial set originally located at Three Hare Court, and later at One Hare Court alongside Henry Fisher, Patrick Neill,

Gordon Slynn Gordon Slynn, Baron Slynn of Hadley (17 February 1930 – 7 April 2009) was a British judge and Advocate General of the European Court of Justice. He particularly specialised in European law. He was a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary. Early life S ...

, and Richard Southwell. Parker built a large practice, mainly but not wholly commercial. Refusing an approach to become

Treasury Devil Devilling is the custom of more senior self employed barristers/advocates making use of their junior’s services to complete briefs belonging to the more senior barrister/advocate, usually without the knowledge of the attorney. Not to be confuse ...

in succession to Ashworth, he was instead appointed 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 1961, becoming the youngest QC. He was elected a

Bencher A bencher or Master of the Bench is a senior member of an Inn of Court in England and Wales or the Inns of Court in Northern Ireland, or the Honorable Society of King's Inns in Ireland. Benchers hold office for life once elected. A bencher c ...

of Lincoln's Inn in 1969 and was Treasurer of the Inn from 1990 to 1991. Parker was Deputy Chairman of the

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

Quarter Sessions The courts of quarter sessions or quarter sessions were local courts that were traditionally held at four set times each year in the Kingdom of England from 1388; they were extended to Wales following the Laws in Wales Act 1535. Scotland establ ...

from 1969 to 1971 and a Judge of the Courts of Appeal of Jersey and

Guernsey Guernsey ( ; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; ) is the second-largest island in the Channel Islands, located west of the Cotentin Peninsula, Normandy. It is the largest island in the Bailiwick of Guernsey, which includes five other inhabited isl ...

from 1974 to 1983. He was a member of the Bar Council from 1968 to 1969, Vice-Chairman from 1970 to 1972, and Chairman of the Bar Council from 1972 to 1973. He was Vice-President of the Senate of the Four Inns of Court from 1972 to 1973. In the 1970s, Parker chaired two major public inquiries. From 1974 to 1975, he chaired the Court of Inquiry into the

Flixborough disaster The Flixborough disaster was an explosion at a chemical plant close to the village of Flixborough, North Lincolnshire, England, on Saturday, 1 June 1974. It killed 28 and seriously injured 36 of the 72 people on site at the time. The casualty ...

. In 1977, soon after he was appointed to the bench, he chaired the Windscale Inquiry into

British Nuclear Fuels British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and cultur ...

' application to develop reprocessing facilities for irradiated oxide nuclear fuels at

Windscale Sellafield, formerly known as Windscale, is a large multi-function nuclear site close to Seascale on the coast of Cumbria, England. As of August 2022, primary activities are nuclear waste processing and storage and nuclear decommissioning. F ...

Judicial career

Parker was appointed a Justice of the High Court in 1977, 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 ...

, and was 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 ...

. From 1981 to 1982 he was the Judge in charge of the Commercial List. In 1983, Parker was promoted a

and was sworn of the Privy Council. As a judge, he was outspoken about the service conditions of judges, which was rumoured to have prevented his promotion to 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 ...

. He retired in 1992.

Family

Parker married Ann Elizabeth Frederika (''née'' White) in 1948; they had one son and three daughters. They also cared for the three children of his wife’s brother and sister-in-law, who died in a plane crash in Peru.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Parker, Roger 1923 births 2011 deaths Knights Bachelor People educated at Eton College Rifle Brigade officers British Army personnel of World War II Alumni of King's College, Cambridge Members of Lincoln's Inn English King's Counsel Queen's Bench Division judges Lord justices of appeal Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom 20th-century English judges