Mervyn Griffith-Jones

Mervyn Griffith-Jones
Born
John Mervyn Guthrie Griffith-Jones

(1909-07-01)1 July 1909
Died13 July 1979(1979-07-13) (aged 70)
London, England
EducationEton College
Alma materTrinity Hall, Cambridge
SpouseJoan Clare Baker
Children3, including John and Robin
ParentJohn Griffith-Jones

John Mervyn Guthrie Griffith-Jones CBE MC (1 July 1909 – 13 July 1979[1]) was a British judge and former barrister. He led the prosecution of Penguin Books in the obscenity trial in 1960 following the publication of D. H. Lawrence's Lady Chatterley's Lover. His much quoted remark in his opening statement as to whether the novel was something "you would even wish your wife or servants to read" is often cited as representing the extent to which the British establishment had fallen out of touch with popular opinion at the time.[2] He failed to convince the jury at the Chatterley trial, and the publishers were acquitted.

  1. ^ Who Was Who, accessed via [1], 31 October 2007
  2. ^ The Trial of Lady Chatterley, C. H. Rolph, ISBN 0-14-013381-X