Branson was son of James Henry Arthur Branson (29 October 1839 – 16 April 1902), Senior Acting Magistrate at
Calcutta,
India, and Mary Ann Brown (23 February 1842 – 31 December 1923). He was educated at
Bedford School, where he was a scholar, and at
Trinity College,
Cambridge, where he was an Exhibitioner. He took his degree in the
Classical Tripos and was also Captain of
First Trinity and a
rowing blue, taking the bow of the Cambridge Boat for the Boat Race of 1893. In 1894, after leaving Cambridge, Branson was
articled to a firm of solicitors, Markby, Stewart & Co. He also became a member of the
Inner Temple and in 1899 was
called to the bar and joined the Northern Circuit. Writing books on the
Stock Exchange helped to make his name as a young
barrister, and he was Junior Counsel to the Treasury from 1912 to 1921. In 1918 he was elected as a
Master of the Bench of the Inner Temple. In 1921 he was
knighted and appointed a Justice of the
High Court of Justice,
King's Bench Division, serving until 1939. He died on 23 April 1951. ''
Who's Who'' reported that his address at the time was Bullswater House,
Pirbright,
Surrey. ==Personal life==