Sir Thomas Wagstaffe Haycraft (5 October 1858 – 16 July 1936) was an English

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

of the

British Colonial Service The Colonial Service, also known as His/Her Majesty's Colonial Service and replaced in 1954 by Her Majesty's Overseas Civil Service (HMOCS), was the British government service that administered most of Britain's overseas possessions, under the aut ...

. Haycraft served as Chief Justice of Grenada from 1916 to 1921 and Chief Justice of

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

from 1921 to 1927. In the latter role, he headed the Haycraft Commission of Inquiry which looked into the causes of the Jaffa Riots.Daniel Monk. ''An Aesthetic Occupation: The Immediacy of Architecture and the Palestinian Conflict - Terrible Episodes.'' (Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 2002) p. 156

Life and career

Haycraft was born in

Islington, London Islington ( ) is an inner-city area of north London, England, within the wider London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's #Islington High Street, High Street to Highbury Fields ...

, the son of actuary John Berry Haycraft (1832–1862) and his wife, Mary Wyatt Candler. John Berry Haycraft was his older brother. He was educated at St. John's College, Oxford, and in 1885 was called to the Bar by the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional association for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practice as a barrister in England and Wa ...

. He practised on the South Eastern Circuit and served as an arbitrator on the London Chamber of Arbitration and as an examiner of the High Court. In 1899, he was appointed President of the District Court of

Larnaca Larnaca, also spelled Larnaka, is a city on the southeast coast of Cyprus and the capital of the Larnaca District, district of the same name. With a district population of 155.000 in 2021, it is the third largest city in the country after Nicosi ...

. After 12 years in

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

, he was transferred as Police Magistrate to

Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...

, before being transferred again in 1913 to be a

Puisne Judge Puisne judge and puisne justice () are terms for an ordinary judge or a judge of lesser rank of a particular court. The term comes from a combination of the two French words, (since, later) and (born) which have been combined as or ; meaning ...

Mauritius Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...

. In 1916, he was promoted to Chief Justice of Grenada. In 1921, he went to Palestine to serve as the first British Chief Justice of Palestine. He retired in 1927 and died in

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

in 1936. In 1891, he married Pauline Richard, daughter of Captain Paul Richard of the French Imperial Guard. They had one son, Brigadier Thomas Wagstaffe Richard Haycraft.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Haycraft, Thomas 1858 births 1936 deaths People from the London Borough of Islington British barristers British Windward Islands judges Mandatory Palestine judges Chief justices of Grenada Knights Bachelor Alumni of St John's College, Oxford Members of the Inner Temple Chief justices of the British Mandate of Palestine