Born in
Hartlepool, he was educated at
Durham School and
Emmanuel College, Cambridge and from 1928 until 1933 played rugby 16 times for his country, captaining the side six times. He was
called to the bar in 1932. Two years later he married Noeline Hill at
St George's, Hanover Square, and the marriage yielded three sons. His professional career was interrupted by
World War II during which he served in the
Royal Artillery and reached the temporary rank of
lieutenant-colonel. He was appointed
Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1945 for his war service and also received the
Territorial Decoration and then
Judge of the
Lord Mayor's and
City of London Court (later
Common Serjeant). By now
Master of the
Inner Temple he succeeded
Edward Anthony Hawke to be
Recorder of London, the Senior Judge at
The Old Bailey in 1964, and was knighted in 1968. A long-serving president of the
Lawn Tennis Association, he died on 17 March 1991; his wife died in 2005. In 1966, he received the
Grand Decoration of Honour in Silver for Services to the Republic of Austria. ==Notes==