Sir William Francis Langer Owen,

KBE KBE may refer to: * Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, post-nominal letters * Knowledge-based engineering Knowledge-based engineering (KBE) is the application of knowledge-based systems technology to the domain o ...

, QC (21 November 1899 – 31 March 1972) was an Australian judge who served as a Justice of the

High Court of Australia The High Court of Australia is the apex court of the Australian legal system. It exercises original and appellate jurisdiction on matters specified in the Constitution of Australia and supplementary legislation. The High Court was establi ...

from 1961 until his death in 1972.

Early life

Owen was born in 1899 in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

, the son of Sir Langer Owen (1862–1935). He was educated at

Sydney Church of England Grammar School The Sydney Church of England Grammar School (commonly known as Shore or Shore School) is an independent Anglican school for boys located on Sydney's Lower North Shore, New South Wales, Australia. The school operates across two campuses, offer ...

, where he was in the school's cadet unit.

Military service

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 ...

, from 1915 to 1919, Owen served in the

First Australian Imperial Force The First Australian Imperial Force (1st AIF) was the main Expeditionary warfare, expeditionary force of the Australian Army during the First World War. It was formed as the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) following United Kingdom of Great Bri ...

. Owen enlisted on 31 December 1915, and was assigned as a

sapper A sapper, also called a combat engineer, is a combatant or soldier who performs a variety of military engineering duties, such as breaching fortifications, demolitions, bridge-building, laying or clearing minefields, preparing field defenses ...

in the 9th Field Company Engineers, part of the Australian 3rd Division. Owen was wounded in action on 20 September 1917, during the Battle of Menin Road, part of the

Battle of Passchendaele The Third Battle of Ypres (; ; ), also known as the Battle of Passchendaele ( ), was a campaign of the First World War, fought by the Allies of World War I, Allies against the German Empire. The battle took place on the Western Front (World Wa ...

. Owen returned to service on 7 October 1917. He was wounded a second time at the

Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme (; ), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and the French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place between 1 July and 18 Nove ...

on 23 May 1918, and was evacuated to a military hospital in

Orpington Orpington is a town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is 13.4 miles (21.6 km) south east of Charing Cross. On the south-eastern edge of the Greater London Built-up Area, it is south of St Mary Cray, sou ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. On 29 August he was reassigned to the Training Depot of the

Australian Flying Corps The Australian Flying Corps (AFC) was the branch of the Australian Army responsible for operating aircraft during World War I, and the forerunner of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). The AFC was established in 1912, though it was not until ...

. By the end of the war, Owen had been promoted to the rank of Lieutenant.

Legal and judicial career

After returning to Australia, Owen completed the bar examinations and was admitted to the New South Wales Bar in 1923. In 1935, Owen was made a

King'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 ...

New South Wales Supreme Court

In 1936, Owen served as an Acting Judge of the

Supreme Court of New South Wales The Supreme Court of New South Wales is the highest state court of the Australian States and territories of Australia, State of New South Wales. It has unlimited jurisdiction within the state in civil law (common law), civil matters, and hears ...

, and in 1937 was made a full judge. In the late 1940s, Owen's associate was Laurence Street, a future

Chief Justice of New South Wales The Chief Justice of New South Wales is the senior judge of the Supreme Court of New South Wales and the highest-ranking judicial officer in the Australian state of New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States a ...

. In 1942, he succeeded

Owen Dixon Sir Owen Dixon (28 April 1886 – 7 July 1972) was an Australian judge and diplomat who served as the sixth Chief Justice of Australia. Many consider him to be Australia's most prominent jurist.Graham Perkin �Its Most Eminent Symbol Hidde ...

as chair of the Central Wool Committee, and in 1945 was the Australian delegate to the Imperial Wool Conference. From 1954 to 1955, Owen chaired the Royal Commission on Espionage, the

Royal Commission A royal commission is a major ad-hoc formal public inquiry into a defined issue in some monarchies. They have been held in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway, Malaysia, Mauritius and Saudi Arabia. In republics an equi ...

which resulted from the infamous

Petrov Affair The Petrov Affair was a Cold War spy incident in Australia, concerning the defection of Vladimir Petrov, a KGB officer, from the Soviet embassy in Canberra in 1954. The defection led to a Royal Commission and the resulting controversy contribu ...

. One of Owen's best known judgments was in the case o
''Associated Dominions Assurance Society Pty Ltd v John Fairfax & Sons Pty Ltd'' (1955) 72 WN (NSW)
where he held what constitutes a "fishing expedition" in the law.

High Court of Australia

In 1957 Owen was made a

Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

, and on 22 September 1961 he was appointed to the bench of the High Court, at the age of 61 and ten months. He remained the oldest person ever appointed to the High Court until the 2015 appointment of Justice Geoffrey Nettle. Owen was elevated to the

Judicial Committee of the Privy Council The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC) is the highest court of appeal for the Crown Dependencies, the British Overseas Territories, some Commonwealth countries and a few institutions in the United Kingdom. Established on 14 August ...

in 1963. He died on 31 March 1972 (aged 72) at St Luke's Hospital, Darlinghurst, Sydney, and was cremated. His wife and daughter survived him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Owen, William 1899 births 1972 deaths Justices of the High Court of Australia Judges of the Supreme Court of New South Wales Australian military personnel of World War I Australian Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Australian King's Counsel Australian members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom People educated at Sydney Church of England Grammar School