William Hubert Dunn (8 July 1933 – 27 February 2020) was a Northern Ireland-born English senior barrister and judge, who held national offices in the areas of mental health and immigration, including that of Chief Immigration Adjudicator of the UK. A leader in a youth charity for many years, later in life he researched and authored a study of the life and work of the Irish poet Francis Ledwidge.

Early life

William Hubert Dunn, known for most of his life as Hubert,^[1] was born in Belfast^[2] on 8 July 1933, the son of businessman William and Isobel Dunn (née Thompson) of Tudor Hall, Holywood, County Down, Northern Ireland.^[1] He attended the nearby Rockport School in County Down and later Winchester College, making him an Old Wykehamist.^[2] He studied for a Bachelor of Arts in politics, economics and philosophy at New College, Oxford, graduating with honours in 1955.^[2][3] He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Life Guards on 4 August 1956, relinquishing his commission exactly a year later and transferring into the reserve.^[4][5][2] In 1958 he was called to the bar at Lincoln's Inn.^[6] He worked at the chambers of Lord Havers and Frederick Lawton.^[2] He returned to New College, and in 1966 secured an M.A.^[1]

Career

Dunn was appointed Local Government Commissioner for the South-East Circuit of England, serving 1963 to 1964. He qualified to serve as a recorder in 1970^[1] and was appointed as such in 1980.^[6] He was made a Queen's Counsel in 1982 and appointed as a circuit judge in 1993,^[3] serving until October 2005.^[6] He was later appointed as the Legal Member of the Restricted Patients Panel of the Mental Health Tribunal, which deals with patients detained after trial.^[6]

Dunn was appointed an immigration adjudicator and special adjudicator (dealing with asylum cases), and was appointed Chief Immigration Adjudicator for the United Kingdom by the Lord Chancellor in 1998,^[6] appearing before the UK parliament in that capacity.^[7] He concluded his immigration work in 2001.^[2]

Non-profit and charitable work

Dunn served as a Bencher (a member of the governing body) of Lincoln's Inn from 1990 to his death.^[8] He was the founder, and for a period secretary, of the London Ulster Lawyers' Union.^[1]

Dunn was a leader from the early years of the charity Hope for Youth (formerly the Women Caring Trust for the Children of Northern Ireland), which runs cross-community projects for young people in Northern Ireland.^[3] He became chairperson ща the charity's trustees, and when he retired from that role in 2003, assumed the role of president of the charity;^[9] his daughter later became a trustee of the charity.^[3][10]

Writing

Dunn was interested in the Irish poet Francis Ledwidge and cooperated with groups also interested in Ledwidge, including speaking at commemorative events.^[11] Having secured access to the curator and archive at Dunsany Castle, he produced a substantial illustrated study of the life, work and literary influences of the poet in 2006, The Minstrel Boy: Francis Ledwidge, and the Literature of His Time,^[2][12] which included some previously unpublished poems.^[13][14]

Personal life

Dunn married Maria Henriqueta D'Araujo Perestrello de Moser, from Portugal, generally known as Henriqueta, in 1971.^[1] Their elder child, Cherry Eugenia Perestrello Dunn, born 1972, also pursued legal studies, becoming a solicitor,^[15] while their younger, James Hubert Sebastian Perestrello Dunn, born 1973,^[1] is generally known as the actor Sebastian Dunn. Henriqueta Dunn died on 5 November 2018^[16] and Hubert Dunn on 27 February 2020.^[17][3] His funeral was private, with donations invited to the charity he had long worked with, Hope for Youth (NI), and a memorial service planned.^[17] The memorial service was announced to be held in October 2021, in the chapel of Lincoln's Inn, followed by a reception in the Inn's Old Hall.^[18]