Sir Ernest Charles CBE | |
|---|---|
| Justice of the High Court | |
| In office 1928–1947 | |
| Personal details | |
| Education | Clifton College New College, Oxford |
Sir Ernest Bruce Charles,CBE (1871 – 3 May 1950) was an English barrister andHigh Court judge from 1928 to 1947.
Ernest Charles was the son of the High Court judgeSir Arthur Charles. He was educated atClifton College andNew College, Oxford, where he read Jurisprudence. He wascalled to the Bar at theInner Temple in 1896, and acquired a large general practice on the Western Circuit and in London. He was appointed aKing's Counsel in 1913 and became aBencher of his Inn in 1922.
Although he was above military age, on the outbreak of theFirst World War, Charles abandoned his practice for war service, initially as an ambulance driver, then as part of the inquiry teams who tried to trace those missing in action. He eventually became Director of the Wounded and Missing Inquiry Department atLe Havre. For his wartime service, Charles wasmentioned in dispatches in 1917, created a Knight of Grace of the Order of St John in April 1918 and appointed aCommander of the Order of the British Empire in 1919.
Returning to the Bar after the war, Charles once again built up a large practice, chiefly before juries. In 1923, he defendedDr Halliday Sutherland against a charge of libel byMarie Stopes. In 1924, he representedGeneral O'Dwyer in a libel action againstSir Sankaran Nair. He also had a general retainer for theCorporation of London in rating cases.
Charles wasRecorder ofBournemouth from 1915 to 1924 and Recorder ofSouthampton from 1924 to 1928. He was appointed a Justice of the High Court on 17 February 1928, and was assigned to theKing's Bench Division, receiving the customaryknighthood. In 1945, he tried U. S. Army deserver Karl Hultén and waitress Elizabeth Jones for theCleft chin murder. He retired on 5 April 1947.
Like his father, Charles had an interest in ecclesiastical law. He wasCommissary General of the Diocese of Canterbury,Chancellor of Wakefield and Hereford from 1912 to 1928, and Chancellor of Chelmsford from 1922 to 1928.
He was a noted local philanthropist inDeal, who helped to establish the local rowing and football clubs. The football ground and two streets in the town are named after him. A blue plaque in his honour was unveiled in 2018.[1]