Rayner Goddard, Baron Goddard

The Lord Goddard
Lord Chief Justice of England
In office
21 January 1946 – 30 September 1958
Monarchs
Preceded byThe Viscount Caldecote
Succeeded byThe Lord Parker of Waddington
Lord of Appeal in Ordinary
In office
19 July 1944 – 21 January 1946
Preceded byThe Lord Atkin
Personal details
Born
William Edgar Rayner Goddard.[1]

10 April 1877
Notting Hill, Middlesex
United Kingdom
Died29 May 1971(1971-05-29) (aged 94)
Temple, London
United Kingdom
Spouse
Marie Schuster
(m. 1906; died 1928)
Children3 daughters
Alma materTrinity College, Oxford
OccupationBarrister

William Edgar Rayner Goddard, Baron Goddard, GCB, PC (10 April 1877 – 29 May 1971) was Lord Chief Justice of England from 1946 to 1958, known for his strict sentencing and mostly conservative views despite being the first Lord Chief Justice to be appointed by a Labour government, as well as the first to possess a law degree. Goddard's no-nonsense reputation was reflected in a number of nicknames that he acquired, which included: 'The Tiger', 'Justice-in-a-jiffy',[2] and—from Winston Churchill—'Lord God-damn'.[3] He is considered one of the last hanging judges.[4]

  1. ^ "FreeBMD Entry Info".
  2. ^ "The Last of the Tiger"[dead link], Time, New York, 1 September 1958.
  3. ^ Bailey, Victor. "The Shadow of the Gallows: The Death Penalty and the British Labour Government, 1945–51". Law and History Review 18, no. 2 (July 2000), p. 339
  4. ^ "A Chief Justice got away with murder", The Independent, Sunday 2 August 1998