Atkinson was born in
Shortlands, Kent, one of five children of Henry Tindal Atkinson, a county court judge, and his wife, Marion Lewin. His sister,
Maud Tindal Atkinson, became a noted artist and illustrator. After studying at
Harrow School, Atkinson matriculated to
Trinity College, Oxford, where he was known by his friends as "Tatters". After gaining a third in classics and a second in modern history in 1899 and 1901 respectively, he joined the
Middle Temple, where he was
called to the Bar in 1902. Atkinson built up a substantial practice on the South Eastern Circuit dealing with local government and taxation cases. In 1913, he was elected to the Bar Council, where he served until 1921. During the
First World War, he was commissioned as a temporary lieutenant in the
Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve on 12 November 1917, attached to the
Royal Naval Air Service, but reporting to the Air Section of Naval Intelligence. This first appointment did not last long, transferring on 23 November to the secretariat of the Civil Aerial Transport Committee. He ceased to be actively employed with the RAF on 17 June 1919. At the end of the war, he acted as a legal representative for Britain at the peace negotiations and was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (Civil Division) and Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur in 1920 as a reward. After returning to Britain, he re-established his practice, serving as an additional member of the Bar Council between 1928 and 1930, becoming a
Bencher of the
Middle Temple in 1929 and being appointed the
Recorder of
Southend-on-Sea on 10 September. In March 1930, he was made
Director of Public Prosecutions—when called to the
Home Office to be told this, he refused to believe it and left the room before he was brought back. Atkinson knew none of the staff, was not a criminal lawyer, and spent the first two years scared that he was doing something wrong. His fears lessened over time, particularly after he was appointed a
Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath in the 1932
King's Birthday Honours. At the start of the
Second World War he helped prepare the defence regulations, and was directly involved in all the spying cases. Atkinson retired in 1944 and became chairman of the Central Price Regulation Committee, where he remained until its dissolution in April 1953. In 1948, he became Treasurer of
Middle Temple and, along with two other Treasurers from the post-war period, has his initials carved into the stonework as a testament to the rebuilding that went on during his period as Treasurer. Following an accident at his home, he died on 26 December 1957. ==References==