Jocelyn Simon, Baron Simon of Glaisdale
Encyclopedia
Jocelyn Edward Salis Simon, Baron Simon of Glaisdale, QC, DL
, PC
(15 January 1911 – 7 May 2006) known as Jack Simon, was as a Law Lord in the United Kingdom
, having been, by turns, a barrister, a commissioned officer in the British Army
, a barrister again, a Conservative Party
politician, a government minister, and a judge.
He held three ministerial positions in the government of Harold Macmillan
, during his 11-year tenure as a member of the House of Commons
. He also served as President
of the Probate, Divorce and Admiralty Division (now the Family Division
) of High Court
for nine years, and was a Law Lord
for 6 years before his retirement in 1977.
Simon's appointment, as of 2011, marks the last appointment of a former member of the House of Commons as a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary
(although Reginald Manningham-Buller, 1st Viscount Dilhorne
, appointed prior to Simon but retiring after Simon, was the last serving Law Lord to have previously served in the Commons.)
in London
, the son of Claire and Frank Cecil Simon. His father was a stockbroker. He was educated at Gresham's School
, in Holt, Norfolk
and read English at Trinity Hall, Cambridge
. He was elected an Honorary Fellow of Trinity Hall in 1963. He was called to the bar at Middle Temple
in 1934, and joined the chambers of Tom Denning (later Lord Denning MR), practising mainly in family law and trust law.
In the Second World War
, he joined the Inns of Court Regiment
and was commissioned as an officer in the Royal Tank Regiment
. He commanded a special service squadron of three Valentine tank
s of the Royal Armoured Corps
in the invasion of Madagascar
in 1942 and the subsequent six-month campaign to liberate it from Vichy French
control. He later fought with the 36th Division in Burma. He was mentioned in dispatches
, and ended the war as a lieutenant colonel
.
He returned to legal practice in 1946, and was appointed King's Counsel in 1951.
which returned Winston Churchill
to office, he was elected as Conservative
Member of Parliament
(MP) for Middlesbrough West
, winning the seat from Labour
. He held the seat for 11 years.
Despite continuing his legal practice, he was attentive to constituency matter, and increased his majority in the 1955 general election
. Politically, he was a founder of the One Nation
Group. He was Parliamentary Private Secretary
to the Attorney-General, Sir Lionel Heald
, for three years, and then held three ministerial positions. He was appointed as a Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State
at the Home Office
in 1957. He took charge of the bill that became the Homicide Act 1957
, earning the respect of Rab Butler
, then Home Secretary
.
A year later, the ministerial team at the Treasury
resigned en masse; Derick Heathcoat-Amory became the new Chancellor of the Exchequer
, replacing Peter Thorneycroft
and Simon was promoted to become Financial Secretary to the Treasury
, replacing Enoch Powell
. Simon held this second office for only one year, being appointed Solicitor-General
in 1959 to replace Sir Harry Hylton-Foster
on his election as Speaker of the House of Commons
; meanwhile, Sir Reginald Manningham-Buller was Attorney General
. Simon was rewarded on taking this third office with a knighthood, and became a Privy Councillor in 1961.
. However, after three years as Solicitor-General, he resigned from his office and his seat in Parliament in 1962, to widespread surprise, to become a High Court judge
, and President of the Probate, Divorce and Admiralty Division, replacing Lord Merriman
. His legal practice at the family bar had prepared him for this position perfectly. The year after taking office, he had an operation to remove a benign tumour. The operation left him paralysed on one side of his face: he had a speech impediment and also lost the use of his right eye; he habitually wore a black eye-patch thereafter, which gave him somewhat of a piratical air.
He remained President of the Probate, Divorce and Admiralty Division for nine years, until he was appointed a Life peer
as Baron Simon of Glaisdale, of Glaisdale in the North Riding of the County of Yorkshire
in February 1971. As a former holder of a high judicial office, he was entitled to sit as a Law Lord. He retired from judicial office in 1977, but continued to attend the House of Lords and took a close interest in legislation.
He sat as a crossbencher in the House of Lords, despite earlier sitting in the House of Commons and holding ministerial office as a Conservative. He was strongly opposed to Henry VIII clauses. He proposed a bill
in 1981 to reform the spelling
of British English
by adopting certain practices from American English
, such as replacing "-ours" endings with "-ors".
, also became a barrister and High Court judge.
Deputy Lieutenant
In the United Kingdom, a Deputy Lieutenant is one of several deputies to the Lord Lieutenant of a lieutenancy area; an English ceremonial county, Welsh preserved county, Scottish lieutenancy area, or Northern Irish county borough or county....
, PC
Privy Council of the United Kingdom
Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, usually known simply as the Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the Sovereign in the United Kingdom...
(15 January 1911 – 7 May 2006) known as Jack Simon, was as a Law Lord in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, having been, by turns, a barrister, a commissioned officer in the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
, a barrister again, a Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
politician, a government minister, and a judge.
He held three ministerial positions in the government of Harold Macmillan
Harold Macmillan
Maurice Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton, OM, PC was Conservative Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 10 January 1957 to 18 October 1963....
, during his 11-year tenure as a member of the House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
. He also served as President
President of the Family Division
The President of the Family Division is the head of the Family Division of the High Court of Justice in England and Wales. The Family division was created in 1971, out of the former Admiralty Court and probate courts into the then Probate, Divorce and Admiralty Division.As of 13 April 2010,...
of the Probate, Divorce and Admiralty Division (now the Family Division
Family division
Family division can refer to:* Family Division of the High Court of Justice* divorce* annulment* division of property* alimony* parental responsibility * dysfunctional familyFor an overview, please see family and family law....
) of High Court
High Court of Justice
The High Court of Justice is, together with the Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, one of the Senior Courts of England and Wales...
for nine years, and was a Law Lord
Lord of Appeal in Ordinary
Lords of Appeal in Ordinary, commonly known as Law Lords, were appointed under the Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876 to the House of Lords of the United Kingdom in order to exercise its judicial functions, which included acting as the highest court of appeal for most domestic matters...
for 6 years before his retirement in 1977.
Simon's appointment, as of 2011, marks the last appointment of a former member of the House of Commons as a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary
Lord of Appeal in Ordinary
Lords of Appeal in Ordinary, commonly known as Law Lords, were appointed under the Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876 to the House of Lords of the United Kingdom in order to exercise its judicial functions, which included acting as the highest court of appeal for most domestic matters...
(although Reginald Manningham-Buller, 1st Viscount Dilhorne
Reginald Manningham-Buller, 1st Viscount Dilhorne
Reginald Edward Manningham-Buller, 1st Viscount Dilhorne PC, QC , known as Sir Reginald Manningham-Buller, Bt, from 1954 to 1962 and as The Lord Dilhorne from 1962 to 1964, was an English lawyer and Conservative politician...
, appointed prior to Simon but retiring after Simon, was the last serving Law Lord to have previously served in the Commons.)
Early life
Simon was born in HampsteadHampstead
Hampstead is an area of London, England, north-west of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Camden in Inner London, it is known for its intellectual, liberal, artistic, musical and literary associations and for Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, the son of Claire and Frank Cecil Simon. His father was a stockbroker. He was educated at Gresham's School
Gresham's School
Gresham’s School is an independent coeducational boarding school in Holt in North Norfolk, England, a member of the HMC.The school was founded in 1555 by Sir John Gresham as a free grammar school for forty boys, following King Henry VIII's dissolution of the Augustinian priory at Beeston Regis...
, in Holt, Norfolk
Holt, Norfolk
Holt is a market town and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The town is north of the city of Norwich, west of Cromer and east of King's Lynn. The town is on the route of the A148 King's Lynn to Cromer road. The nearest railway station is in the town of Sheringham where access to the...
and read English at Trinity Hall, Cambridge
Trinity Hall, Cambridge
Trinity Hall is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. It is the fifth-oldest college of the university, having been founded in 1350 by William Bateman, Bishop of Norwich.- Foundation :...
. He was elected an Honorary Fellow of Trinity Hall in 1963. He was called to the bar at Middle Temple
Middle Temple
The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers; the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn and Lincoln's Inn...
in 1934, and joined the chambers of Tom Denning (later Lord Denning MR), practising mainly in family law and trust law.
In the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, he joined the Inns of Court Regiment
Inns of Court Regiment
The Inns of Court Regiment was a British Army regiment which existed under that name between May 1932 and May 1961. However, the unit traces its lineage back much further, to at least 1584, and its name lives on within The Inns of Court & City and Essex Yeomanry .-History:The first organised...
and was commissioned as an officer in the Royal Tank Regiment
Royal Tank Regiment
The Royal Tank Regiment is an armoured regiment of the British Army. It was formerly known as the Tank Corps and the Royal Tank Corps. It is part of the Royal Armoured Corps and is made up of two operational regiments, the 1st Royal Tank Regiment and the 2nd Royal Tank Regiment...
. He commanded a special service squadron of three Valentine tank
Valentine tank
The Tank, Infantry, Mk III, Valentine was an infantry tank produced in the United Kingdom during the Second World War. More than 8,000 of the type were produced in 11 different marks plus various purpose-built variants, accounting for approximately a quarter of wartime British tank production...
s of the Royal Armoured Corps
Royal Armoured Corps
The Royal Armoured Corps is currently a collection of ten regular regiments, mostly converted from old horse cavalry regiments, and four Yeomanry regiments of the Territorial Army...
in the invasion of Madagascar
Madagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
in 1942 and the subsequent six-month campaign to liberate it from Vichy French
Vichy France
Vichy France, Vichy Regime, or Vichy Government, are common terms used to describe the government of France that collaborated with the Axis powers from July 1940 to August 1944. This government succeeded the Third Republic and preceded the Provisional Government of the French Republic...
control. He later fought with the 36th Division in Burma. He was mentioned in dispatches
Mentioned in Dispatches
A soldier Mentioned in Despatches is one whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which is described the soldier's gallant or meritorious action in the face of the enemy.In a number of countries, a soldier's name must be mentioned in...
, and ended the war as a lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...
.
He returned to legal practice in 1946, and was appointed King's Counsel in 1951.
Politics
Simon's career then took a political turn: at the 1951 general electionUnited Kingdom general election, 1951
The 1951 United Kingdom general election was held eighteen months after the 1950 general election, which the Labour Party had won with a slim majority of just five seats...
which returned Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
to office, he was elected as Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(MP) for Middlesbrough West
Middlesbrough West (UK Parliament constituency)
Middlesbrough West was a parliamentary constituency in the town of Middlesbrough in North East England. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first-past-the-post voting system....
, winning the seat from Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
. He held the seat for 11 years.
Despite continuing his legal practice, he was attentive to constituency matter, and increased his majority in the 1955 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1955
The 1955 United Kingdom general election was held on 26 May 1955, four years after the previous general election. It resulted in a substantially increased majority of 60 for the Conservative government under new leader and prime minister Sir Anthony Eden against Labour Party, now in their 20th year...
. Politically, he was a founder of the One Nation
One Nation Conservatism
One nation, one nation conservatism, and Tory democracy are terms used in political debate in the United Kingdom to refer to a certain wing of the Conservative Party...
Group. He was Parliamentary Private Secretary
Parliamentary Private Secretary
A Parliamentary Private Secretary is a role given to a United Kingdom Member of Parliament by a senior minister in government or shadow minister to act as their contact for the House of Commons; this role is junior to that of Parliamentary Under-Secretary, which is a ministerial post, salaried by...
to the Attorney-General, Sir Lionel Heald
Lionel Heald
Sir Lionel Frederick Heald, QC, PC, was a British barrister and Conservative Party politician.At the 1950 general election, Heald was elected as Member of Parliament for the Chertsey constituency in Surrey...
, for three years, and then held three ministerial positions. He was appointed as a Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State
A Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State is the lowest of three tiers of government minister in the government of the United Kingdom, junior to both a Minister of State and a Secretary of State....
at the Home Office
Home Office
The Home Office is the United Kingdom government department responsible for immigration control, security, and order. As such it is responsible for the police, UK Border Agency, and the Security Service . It is also in charge of government policy on security-related issues such as drugs,...
in 1957. He took charge of the bill that became the Homicide Act 1957
Homicide Act 1957
The Homicide Act 1957 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was enacted as a partial reform of the common law offence of murder in English law by abolishing the doctrine of constructive malice , reforming the partial defence of provocation, and by introducing the partial defences...
, earning the respect of Rab Butler
Rab Butler
Richard Austen Butler, Baron Butler of Saffron Walden, KG CH DL PC , who invariably signed his name R. A. Butler and was familiarly known as Rab, was a British Conservative politician...
, then Home Secretary
Home Secretary
The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the Home Office of the United Kingdom, and one of the country's four Great Offices of State...
.
A year later, the ministerial team at the Treasury
HM Treasury
HM Treasury, in full Her Majesty's Treasury, informally The Treasury, is the United Kingdom government department responsible for developing and executing the British government's public finance policy and economic policy...
resigned en masse; Derick Heathcoat-Amory became the new Chancellor of the Exchequer
Chancellor of the Exchequer
The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the title held by the British Cabinet minister who is responsible for all economic and financial matters. Often simply called the Chancellor, the office-holder controls HM Treasury and plays a role akin to the posts of Minister of Finance or Secretary of the...
, replacing Peter Thorneycroft
Peter Thorneycroft
George Edward Peter Thorneycroft, Baron Thorneycroft CH, PC , was a British Conservative Party politician. He served as Chancellor of the Exchequer between 1957 and 1958.-Biography:...
and Simon was promoted to become Financial Secretary to the Treasury
Financial Secretary to the Treasury
Financial Secretary to the Treasury is a junior Ministerial post in the British Treasury. It is the 4th most significant Ministerial role within the Treasury after the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, and the Paymaster General...
, replacing Enoch Powell
Enoch Powell
John Enoch Powell, MBE was a British politician, classical scholar, poet, writer, and soldier. He served as a Conservative Party MP and Minister of Health . He attained most prominence in 1968, when he made the controversial Rivers of Blood speech in opposition to mass immigration from...
. Simon held this second office for only one year, being appointed Solicitor-General
Solicitor General for England and Wales
Her Majesty's Solicitor General for England and Wales, often known as the Solicitor General, is one of the Law Officers of the Crown, and the deputy of the Attorney General, whose duty is to advise the Crown and Cabinet on the law...
in 1959 to replace Sir Harry Hylton-Foster
Harry Hylton-Foster
Sir Harry Braustyn Hylton-Foster , was a British Conservative Party politician who served as an Member of Parliament from 1950 until his death...
on his election as Speaker of the House of Commons
Speaker of the British House of Commons
The Speaker of the House of Commons is the presiding officer of the House of Commons, the United Kingdom's lower chamber of Parliament. The current Speaker is John Bercow, who was elected on 22 June 2009, following the resignation of Michael Martin...
; meanwhile, Sir Reginald Manningham-Buller was Attorney General
Attorney General
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general, or attorney-general, is the main legal advisor to the government, and in some jurisdictions he or she may also have executive responsibility for law enforcement or responsibility for public prosecutions.The term is used to refer to any person...
. Simon was rewarded on taking this third office with a knighthood, and became a Privy Councillor in 1961.
Judiciary
Simon seemed destined for a seat in the CabinetCabinet (government)
A Cabinet is a body of high ranking government officials, typically representing the executive branch. It can also sometimes be referred to as the Council of Ministers, an Executive Council, or an Executive Committee.- Overview :...
. However, after three years as Solicitor-General, he resigned from his office and his seat in Parliament in 1962, to widespread surprise, to become a High Court judge
High Court judge
A High Court judge is a judge of the High Court of Justice, and represents the third highest level of judge in the courts of England and Wales. High Court judges are referred to as puisne judges...
, and President of the Probate, Divorce and Admiralty Division, replacing Lord Merriman
Boyd Merriman, 1st Baron Merriman
Frank Boyd Merriman, 1st Baron Merriman PC, KC, OBE, GCVO , often known as Boyd Merriman, was a Conservative Party politician and judge in the United Kingdom.-Education:...
. His legal practice at the family bar had prepared him for this position perfectly. The year after taking office, he had an operation to remove a benign tumour. The operation left him paralysed on one side of his face: he had a speech impediment and also lost the use of his right eye; he habitually wore a black eye-patch thereafter, which gave him somewhat of a piratical air.
He remained President of the Probate, Divorce and Admiralty Division for nine years, until he was appointed a Life peer
Life peer
In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the Peerage whose titles cannot be inherited. Nowadays life peerages, always of baronial rank, are created under the Life Peerages Act 1958 and entitle the holders to seats in the House of Lords, presuming they meet qualifications such as...
as Baron Simon of Glaisdale, of Glaisdale in the North Riding of the County of Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
in February 1971. As a former holder of a high judicial office, he was entitled to sit as a Law Lord. He retired from judicial office in 1977, but continued to attend the House of Lords and took a close interest in legislation.
He sat as a crossbencher in the House of Lords, despite earlier sitting in the House of Commons and holding ministerial office as a Conservative. He was strongly opposed to Henry VIII clauses. He proposed a bill
Bill (proposed law)
A bill is a proposed law under consideration by a legislature. A bill does not become law until it is passed by the legislature and, in most cases, approved by the executive. Once a bill has been enacted into law, it is called an act or a statute....
in 1981 to reform the spelling
Spelling reform
Many languages have undergone spelling reform, where a deliberate, often officially sanctioned or mandated, change to spelling takes place. Proposals for such reform are also common....
of British English
British English
British English, or English , is the broad term used to distinguish the forms of the English language used in the United Kingdom from forms used elsewhere...
by adopting certain practices from American English
American English
American English is a set of dialects of the English language used mostly in the United States. Approximately two-thirds of the world's native speakers of English live in the United States....
, such as replacing "-ours" endings with "-ors".
Family
He married his first wife, Gwendolen Evans, in 1934. She died in 1937. He married his second wife, Fay, in 1948; they had three sons. One, Sir Peregrine SimonPeregrine Simon
Sir Peregrine Charles Hugo Simon , styled The Hon. Mr Justice Simon, is a British High Court judge.-Education/Career:He was educated at Westminster School and Trinity Hall, Cambridge. He was called to the Bar, Middle Temple in 1973. He was appointed as Queen's Counsel in 1991; as a Bencher in 1999...
, also became a barrister and High Court judge.
Sources
- Obituary (The GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
, 8 May 2006) - Obituary (The Daily TelegraphThe Daily TelegraphThe Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
, 8 May 2006) - Obituary (The TimesThe TimesThe Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
, 8 May 2006) - Obituary (The IndependentThe IndependentThe Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
, 9 May 2006)