Leonard Costello | |
|---|---|
 Costello in 1922 | |
| Member of Parliament forHuntingdonshire | |
| In office 7 December 1923 – 9 October 1924 | |
| Preceded by | Charles Murchison |
| Succeeded by | Charles Murchison |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 25 August 1881 |
| Died | 2 December 1972 (aged 91) |
| Political party | Liberal |
Sir Leonard Wilfred James Costello (25 August 1881 – 2 December 1972)[1] was an Englishbarrister, college lecturer, soldier and Indian colonial judge who was also aLiberal Party politician.
Leonard Costello was born in London, the son of James and Alice Costello. He was educated atDulwich College and was later president of the Alleyn Club, established in honour of theschool's founder.[2] He then went toPeterhouse, Cambridge where he gainedBA andLL.B degrees in 1902 and anMA in 1906.[3]
In 1907 he married Winifred Avery, the daughter of Thomas Belgrave and they had two daughters. His first wife died in 1950[4] and in 1952 he married Joan Barbara Alice Piper (born 4 January 1905),[5] the daughter of George Earl Smith Hewitt;[6] she was the widow of Maurice James Trounce Piper. Joan's death was registered in 1981.[7]
Costello wascalled to the Bar at theInner Temple in 1903. He then practised on the Midland Circuit from 1903 to 1926.[8] Between 1906 and 1908 he had a position as a lecturer in law atUniversity College, Nottingham. He later went out to India where, from 1926–1940, he was a judge in the High Court inCalcutta. He was Acting Chief Justice ofBengal in 1937 and again 1939.[9] In 1937, he was strongly criticised by theIndian National Congress after remarks he made in a murder trial that the poor education and biased approach of potential jurors made the jury system unsuitable in India.[10] It was widely believed that the jury in the case had made up their mind to find the defendant not guilty despite what Costello regarded as conclusive evidence of guilt.[11] Costello was neverthelessknighted in 1935 for his role as a Bengal judge[12] and was awarded theCBE in 1946.[13]
TheBhawal case ran from 1933 to 1946, creating a sensation across India, with courts involved in London, Calcutta and Dhaka. In a case with echoes of the famousTichborne Claimant, the court action was concerned with the dispute of inheritance of an estate and the identity of the Second Kumar of Bhawal (a Bengali princeling orzamindar) who was declared dead under mysterious circumstances, and who came back to life after twelve years.
A collection of documents relating to the case has been deposited in the library of theUniversity of Exeter. It consists of eight oversize printed portfolios containing photographs of evidence. The items in this collection originate from the Appeal from Original Decree (Sreemati Bibhabati Devi v. Ramendra Narayan Roy), over which Costello presided as Acting Chief of Justice. This part of the trial took place at the High Court of Judicature,Fort William, Bengal, India, 1939. Also included is a box of newspaper cuttings relating to the case as well as court schedule lists, 1939.
Costello was aJustice of the Peace in Devon from 1940 onwards. He was a member of the Devon Magistrates Courts Committee from its inception till 1956. He was Deputy Chairman of the County Justices Committee, 1941–46 and chairman from 1946–56. He served as Legal Adviser to the Devon County Army Welfare Services, 1941–46 (for which work he was awarded theDefence Medal). He was Deputy Chairman of DevonQuarter Sessions 1940–1947 and chairman from 1947–1956. He was Chairman of the Devon Branch of theMagistrates' Association 1954–1963 and sometime member of the National Council of the Joint Committee of the Magistrates' Association.[14]
Costello was commissioned in theArmy Service Corps in January 1916[15] and after serving in the European theatre in the First World War,[16] resigned his commission as a temporary captain on account of ill-health in December 1918.[17]
Costello was a founder member of the first Executive Committee of theNational League of Young Liberals and he was later the Chairman of the NLYL London Council. In 1910 he stood for election to theLondon County Council as a member of theProgressive Party inChelsea.[18] He was a member of the Council of the London Liberal Party, President of Devon and Cornwall Liberal Federation, 1968–71 and President of Tiverton Divisional Liberal Association, 1968–71.[19]
He first stood for Parliament at theJanuary 1910 general election, contesting theStrand Division of Westminster,[20] a safeUnionist seat.[21] From 1912 to 1914 he was prospective Liberal candidate forIslington North but the intervention of the First World War meant he never fought the seat.[22] In1918 he stood for election inExeter[23] but as an IndependentAsquithian Liberal he was not given theCoalition coupon and lost to the sitting Coalition Conservative, Sir Robert Newman. He fought Exeter again in1922 again losing to Newman in a straight fight. But at the1923 general election he switched seats to contestHuntingdonshire, beating the sittingTory MP,Charles Murchison, by a majority of 1,061 votes. It was an unexpected win, overturning a Tory majority of nearly 5,000 and Murchison put it down to deficiencies in his local party organisation.[24] With the Tories making a renewed effort Costello held the seat for just a year as Murchison won it back at the1924 general election.[25]
Costello's year in theHouse of Commons seems to have enough for him as he did not to fight any further Parliamentary campaigns, although he was reported as being one of the Liberal candidates considered for theby-election at Berwick-upon-Tweed[26] in 1941 fought under the wartime truce. In the event a local candidate,George Charles Grey was chosen and was returned unopposed.[27]
Costello was a tireless supporter of charitable ventures. He served as a member of the Lord Roberts Memorial Workshops,[28] an organisation set up to create employment for wounded ex-servicemen and named afterField Marshal Lord Roberts. He was a member of the Council of the charitable fund-raising event, theAlexandra Rose Day, being its Honorary Treasurer after 1941.[29] He was also Chairman of the Lumley Memorial Trust from 1950 onwards and President of his local Committee of theCancer Research Campaign, since its inception.[30]
In 1939 Costello was appointed a member of the National Service Act Appeals Tribunal for England and Wales, a body which heard appeals from those applying to be registered asconscientious objectors when refused permission by local tribunals.[31] He was also Chairman of aHome Office Advisory Committee on Aliens in theIsle of Man in 1941.[32] He was a member of the Managing Committee ofElizabeth Garrett Anderson Hospital, 1941–50; President of the All India and of Calcutta Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, 1933–41 and President of the Soc for the Protection of Children in India, 1927–37.[33] He was twice President of the Bengal Flying Club, Calcutta.[34]
Costello served asSheriff of Devon, 1945–46.[35] He was a member of the Rating Appeal Committee, 1940–50, a member of the Devon Standing Joint Committee, 1946 and was vice-chairman from 1952–56. He chaired the General Commissioners of Income Tax for the East Budleigh and Clifton Division of Devon, 1954–64. He was a member of theExeter Cathedral Restoration Fund Committee, 1946–66 AND served on various Devon committees of theNSPCC, 1949–70. In work connected to his legal background he was a member of theBoard of Visitors ofHM Prison, Dartmoor, 1950–61 and Chairman of the County Confirming and Compensation Committees, 1951–56. From 1946–1956 he was a member of theExeter Prison Visiting Justices Committee, 1946–56 and was for five years President of the Conference of Prison andBorstal Visiting Justices. He also served on DevonAgricultural Wages Committee, 1956–62, as Chairman of the Agricultural Land Tribunal for the South West Region of England, 1948–58 and was sometime Chairman of the Directors of Exeter Theatre Co. Ltd. He was President, Devon Old Peoples Welfare Committee; a Commissioner of Income Tax for the East Exminster Division of Devon; Vice-President and Member of Committees, Devon Community Council and Vice-President, Devon Branch of the Forces Help Society.[36]
Costello died at his home, Grantlands,Uffculme, Devon on 2 December 1972, aged 91 years.[37]
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
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| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forHuntingdonshire 1923–1924 | Succeeded by |