Born in Suffolk, Aldous was the son of barrister Guy Aldous QC and his wife, Gill Henson, daughter of Gino Henson, MFH, Master of the Blankney Hunt. Growing up in East Anglia, Aldous was a keen and eager huntsman from an early age. His father was MFH of the Essex and Suffolks, a responsibility that he passed onto Willie Aldous in 1970. He ceased hunting for real in 1976 to rejoin a serious career as a London barrister. Aldous achieved considerable success in the practice of intellectual property law that took him all the way to the bench of the Patents Court. William Aldous was head of barristers' chambers at
6 Pump Court Chambers, Inner Temple from 1980 to 1988. In 1988 he was appointed to the
High Court bench and assigned to the
Patents Court of the
Chancery Division. In January 1993 his judgment reflected a trend towards the freedom to publish. The
Home Office had claimed copyright over tapes of serial killer,
Dennis Nilsen in the possession of
World In Action.
Charles Tremayne of
Granada Television, described Aldous's decision to allow broadcast as "welcome and surprising". He was made a
Lord Justice of Appeal in 1995 and was sworn a member of the
Privy Council. He retired from the bench in October 2003 He was a member of the
Gibraltar Court of Appeal. Sir William Aldous died on 17 March 2018, his 82nd birthday. ==Judgments==