The Rt Hon. Sir Robert Clarkson Tredgold, KCMG, PC (2 June 1899 – 8 April 1977), was a Rhodesian barrister, judge and politician.

Early life

He was born in Bulawayo to Clarkson Henry Tredgold, the Attorney-General of Southern Rhodesia,[1] and Emily Ruth (née Moffat), and was the grandson of the missionary John Moffat.[2] He attended first Prince Edward School and then South African College Schools in Cape Town, South Africa.[3] He was a Rhodes Scholar and read law at Hertford College.[3]

In 1923 he was called to the bar at Inner Temple and then returned to Rhodesia to practice law.[4]

Political career

In the 1934 general election, Tredgold was elected to the Southern Rhodesian Legislative Assembly seat of Insiza for the United Rhodesia Party of Godfrey Huggins. He rose quickly, becoming Minister of Justice and Defence in 1936, Minister of Justice, Defence and Air (1940–1943), Minister of Mines and Public Works (1938), and Minister of Native Affairs (1942–1943).

Later life and career

Tredgold resigned his offices and Legislative Assembly seat in 1943, to take up an appointment as a Judge of the High Court of Southern Rhodesia. In 1950, on the retirement of Chief Justice Sir Robert Hudson, he was appointed to succeed him as chief justice of the court.[4] Serving until 1955, in this capacity he served as acting Governor of Southern Rhodesia from 21 November 1953 to 26 November 1954. In 1953, the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, awarded Tredgold the honorary degree of a Doctor of Laws (Hon LLD).[4]

Tredgold was appointed the first Chief Justice of the Federal Supreme Court of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland in 1955. In this capacity he served as acting Governor of Southern Rhodesia from 21 November 1953 to 26 November 1954, and as acting Governor-General of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland from 24 January 1957 to February 1957. In November 1960 he resigned in protest from his Central African Federation position, criticising the actions authorised by Sir Edgar Whitehead to suppress black nationalist opposition to the Federation in Nyasaland and Northern Rhodesia, through the introduction of the Law and Order (Maintenance) Bill.[5] Tredgold noted that the bill "outrages almost every basic human right and is, in addition, an unwarranted invasion by the executive of the sphere of the courts. These are the custodians of individual rights and are my special responsibility."[4]

Sir Robert Tredgold was named a Privy Counsellor in 1957. He retired to Marandellas with his second wife, Lady Margaret Tredgold, where he died on 8 April 1977 at 78.[6] He had published the book The Rhodesia That Was My Life in 1968.

Family

A widower in 1974, Tredgold married his second wife, Mrs. Margaret Helen Phear (née Baines; 1910-2012), a widow and mother of three children, originally from Aliwal North, South Africa. Together the couple researched the folklore of Rhodesia (formerly Southern Rhodesia) and published children's books based on them. They also researched edible plants, culminating in Food Plants of Zimbabwe, which she completed after his death and published in 1986.[7]

A devout Roman Catholic, Lady Tredgold died in 2012 at age 102 in England, where she had relocated in 2004 due to the Mugabe government's policies. She was predeceased by one son, and survived by a second son and her daughter, with whom she lived in England.[7][8]

Honours

Robert Clarkson Tredgold was appointed Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George in the 1943 New Year Honours.[9] He was appointed a Knight Bachelor in the 1951 New Year Honours.[10] He was appointed a KCMG in 1955.

References

  1. ^ Clarkson Henry Tredgold (1865–1938) became Public Prosecutor in 1898, in 1900 Solicitor General, and in 1903 Attorney General in Southern Rhodesia, before serving as a Judge of the High Court from 1919–1925.
  2. ^ Berens, Denis (1988). A Concise Encyclopedia of Zimbabwe. Gweru, Zimbabwe: Mambo Press. ISBN 0869224417.
  3. ^ a b Tredgold, Robert (1968). The Rhodesia that was my life. London: George Allen and Unwin.
  4. ^ a b c d "Resignation of the Rt. Hon. Sir Robert Clarkson Tredgold, Chief Justice of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland". South African Law Journal. 78: 13. 1961.
  5. ^ Brendon, Piers (9 February 2010). The Decline and Fall of the British Empire (1781-1997). Vintage Books (Random House). p. 588. ISBN 978-0-307-38841-4.
  6. ^ "Sir Robert Treadgold". New York Times. 10 April 1977.
  7. ^ a b Lee, Clive (2 December 2012). "Lady Margaret Tredgold obituary". Guardian. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
  8. ^ Genealogy site info for Margaret Helen Baines
  9. ^ "No. 35841". The London Gazette. 29 December 1942. p. 5.
  10. ^ "No. 39104". The London Gazette (Supplement). 29 December 1950. p. 2.
Southern Rhodesian Legislative Assembly Preceded byStephen O'Keeffe Member of Parliament for Insiza 1934 – 1943 Succeeded byLeslie Thomas Smith Political offices Preceded byVernon Arthur Lewisas Minister of Justice and Defence Minister of Justice 1936 – 1940 Succeeded byHimselfas Minister of Justice, Defence and Air Minister of Defence 1936 – 1940 Preceded byHimselfas Minister of Justiceand Minister of Defence Minister of Justice, Defence and Air 1940 Succeeded byHimselfas Minister of Justice and Defence Succeeded byErnest Lucas Guestas Minister of Air Preceded byHimselfas Minister of Justice, Defence and Air Minister of Justice and Defence 1940 – 1943 Succeeded byHarry Bertinas Minister of Justice Succeeded bySir Godfrey Hugginsas Minister of Defence Preceded byWilliam Sydney Senior Minister of Mines and Public Works 1938 Succeeded byErnest Lucas Guest Preceded bySir Godfrey Huggins Minister of Native Affairs 1942 – 1943 Succeeded byHarry Bertin Legal offices Preceded byVernon Lewis (acting) Chief Justice of Southern Rhodesia 1950 – 1955 Succeeded bySir John Murray New title Chief Justice of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland 1955 – 1960 Succeeded bySir John Clayden Government offices Preceded bySir John Kennedy Governor of Southern RhodesiaActing 1953 – 1954 Succeeded bySir Peveril William-Powlett Preceded byLord Llewellin Governor-General of the Federation of Rhodesia and NyasalandActing 1957 Succeeded bySir William Lindsay Murphy (acting)
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