Sir Edward Anthony Hawke (26 July 1895 – 25 September 1964) was a British judge and the

Common Serjeant of London The Common Serjeant of London (full title The Serjeant-at-Law in the Common Hall) is an ancient British legal office, first recorded in 1291, and is the second most senior permanent judge of the Central Criminal Court after the Recorder of Lon ...

from 1954 to 1959 and

Recorder of London The recorder of London is an ancient legal office in the City of London. The recorder of London is the senior circuit judge at the Central Criminal Court (the Old Bailey), hearing trials of criminal offences. The recorder is appointed by the Cr ...

from 1959 to 1964.Fred E. Pritchard, ‘Hawke, Sir (Edward) Anthony (1895–1964)’, rev. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 200
accessed 9 Dec 2016
/ref>

Biography

The son of the judge Sir John Anthony Hawke (1869–1941) and Winifred Edith Laura (née Stevens), he was educated at

Charterhouse School Charterhouse is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Godalming, Surrey, England. Founded by Thomas Sutton in 1611 on the site of the old Carthusian monastery in Charter ...

and in 1914 went to

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College ( ) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by Bishop of Winchester William of Waynflete. It is one of the wealthiest Oxford colleges, as of 2022, and ...

. He left Magdalen to serve during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and after did not return to Oxford, instead studying law. He was called to the

Bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar ** Chocolate bar * Protein bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a laye ...

by the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court entitled to Call to the bar, call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple (with whi ...

in 1920 and joined the Western Circuit and the Devon sessions. He married the widow Evelyn Audrey Lee Davies (1905/6–1977) in 1931 and they had a daughter. His practice was mainly centred at the Central Criminal Court where he was junior prosecuting counsel in 1932, third senior prosecuting counsel in 1937, second senior prosecuting counsel in 1942, and senior prosecuting counsel from 1945 to 1950. Here among others he prosecuted the murderers

Neville Heath Neville George Clevely Heath (6 June 1917 – 16 October 1946) was an English murderer who killed two young women in the summer of 1946. He was Capital punishment, executed in Pentonville Prison, London, in October 1946. Early life and career Nev ...

and Daniel Raven. Hawke was the

Recorder Recorder or The Recorder may refer to: Newspapers * ''Indianapolis Recorder'', a weekly newspaper * ''The Recorder'' (Massachusetts newspaper), a daily newspaper published in Greenfield, Massachusetts, US * ''The Recorder'' (Port Pirie), a newsp ...

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

from 1939 to 1950 and the Deputy Chairman of the Hertfordshire Quarter Sessions from 1940 to 1950. He became 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 his Inn in 1942 and in 1950 was appointed Chairman of the County of London

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 ...

. In 1954 he was

knighted 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 ...

Honour of knighthood
- ''

The London Gazette ''The London Gazette'', known generally as ''The Gazette'', is one of the official journals of record or government gazettes of the Government of the United Kingdom, and the most important among such official journals in the United Kingdom, i ...

'' 1 January 1954 pg 2 and in the same year he succeeded Hugh Loveday Beazley as Common Serjeant, the second most senior permanent judge of the Central Criminal Court; in 1959 he was appointed

, the senior Circuit Judge at the Central Criminal Court, hearing trials of criminal offences. One of the last cases he tried as Recorder at the Old Bailey was that of

Christine Keeler Christine Margaret Keeler (22 February 1942 – 4 December 2017) was an English model and showgirl. Her meeting at a dance club with society osteopath Stephen Ward drew her into fashionable circles. At the Cold War (1953–1962), height of the ...

who was accused of perjury. In 1962 Hawke became Treasurer of his

Inn Inns are generally establishments or buildings where travelers can seek lodging, and usually, food and drink. Inns are typically located in the country or along a highway. Before the advent of motorized transportation, they also provided accomm ...

. He had an enthusiastic interest in

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

and also enjoyed golf. He was the editor of the fifteenth edition of ''Roscoe's Criminal Evidence''. Hawke died in Italy on 25 September 1964 while on holiday at

Menaggio Menaggio ( ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Como, Lombardy, northern Italy, located on the western shore of Lake Como at the mouth of the river Senagra. Menaggio has three ''frazioni'' (parishes): Croce, Loveno and Nobiallo. History ...

Lake Como Lake Como ( , ) also known as Lario, is a lake of glacial origin in Lombardy, Italy. It has an area of , making it the third-largest lake in Italy, after Lake Garda and Lake Maggiore. At over deep, it is one of the deepest lakes in Europe. ...

. He was succeeded as

Carl Aarvold Sir Carl Douglas Aarvold (7 June 1907 – 17 March 1991) was an English barrister who became Recorder of London. Among other cases, he presided at the 1965 trial of the Kray twins. In his earlier days, he was also an England rugby union int ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hawke, Anthony 1895 births 1964 deaths People educated at Charterhouse School British Army personnel of World War I Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford Common Serjeants of London Recorders of London Members of the Middle Temple Knights Bachelor