Sir Charles Ernest St John Branch KC (2 June 1865 – 1939), known as St John Branch, was

Chief Justice of Jamaica Chief may refer to: Title or rank Military and law enforcement * Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force * Chief of police, the head of a police department * Chief of the boa ...

and the 23rd Chief Justice of Ceylon. Charles Ernest Branch was born in San Ferdinand, Trinidad. In 1910 he was made Auditor General of Jamaica and in 1921 a puisne judge in the

Straits Settlements The Straits Settlements were a group of British territories located in Southeast Asia. Headquartered in Singapore for more than a century, it was originally established in 1826 as part of the territories controlled by the British East India Comp ...

. In 1923 he returned to Jamaica as Chief Justice, a position he held until 1925. He was made a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are the ...

in the

1924 Birthday Honours The 1924 Birthday Honours were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were made to celebrate the official birthday of The King, and were p ...

. On 3 July 1925 he was appointed Chief Justice of Ceylon, succeeding

Anton Bertram Sir Thomas Anton Bertram King's Counsel, KC (8 February 1869 – 17 September 1937) was an English Barrister and the 22nd Chief Justice of Ceylon. He was appointed on 26 July 1918 succeeding Alexander Wood Renton and was Chief Justice until 1925. ...

, a position he held until 25 May 1926, when he was succeeded by Stanley Fisher. He died in Horsham, West Sussex in 1939. He had married Agnes Irene Templer on 24 March 1900 and had two sons, the younger of which was killed in World War II.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Branch, St John 1865 births 1939 deaths Chief justices of Jamaica Chief Justices of British Ceylon 20th-century Sri Lankan lawyers 19th-century Sri Lankan people British people in British Ceylon Alumni of Codrington College Colony of Jamaica people