{{Short description|British barrister (1911–1991)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}} {{Use British English|date=March 2020}} {{Infobox officeholder | honorific_prefix = [[The Right Honourable]] | name = Sir Alan Stewart Orr | honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|OBE}} | image = Alan Stewart Orr.jpg | caption = Portrait by [[Walter Bird (photographer)|Walter Bird]], 1965 | office = [[Lord Justice of Appeal]] | term_start = 1971 | term_end = 1980 | predecessor = | successor = | office2 = | term_start2 = | term_end2 = <!-- Personal --> | birth_name = <!-- only use if different from name --> | birth_date = {{birth date|df=y|1911|02|21}} | birth_place = [[Rochford, Essex]], England | death_date = {{death date and age|df=y|1991|04|03|1911|02|21}} | death_place = [[Warwickshire]], England | resting_place = | spouse = {{marriage|Mariana Frances Lilian Lang|1933|1986|end=d}} | children = 4 | education = [[Fettes College]] | alma_mater = {{ubl|[[University of Edinburgh]]|[[Balliol College, Oxford]]}} | occupation = [[Barrister]] | profession = | signature = | website = | footnotes = <!--Military service--> | branch = {{air force|United Kingdom}} | unit = [[Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve|Volunteer Reserve]] | service_years = 1940–1946 | rank = [[Wing Commander]] | battles = [[Second World War]] | mawards = [[Officer of the Order of the British Empire]] (1944) <br /> [[Mentioned in despatches]] (1946) }}
'''Sir Alan Stewart Orr''', {{post-nominals|country=GBR|OBE|sep=,|size=100}} (21 February 1911 – 3 April 1991) was a British [[barrister]] specialising in taxation who rose to be a [[High Court of Justice|High Court]] judge and a [[Court of Appeal judge (England and Wales)|Lord Justice of Appeal]]. After 1958 he was known as '''Alan Orr QC''', from 1965 as '''Mr Justice Orr''', and from 1971 as '''Lord Justice Orr'''.
During the Second World War, Orr served in the [[Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve]], became a [[wing commander]], and was appointed an Officer of the [[Order of the British Empire]] for his wartime service.
==Early life and education== Orr was born on 21 February 1911 to William Orr and Doris Kemsley, of [[Great Wakering]], Essex,<ref name=who>"Orr, Rt Hon. Sir Alan (Stewart) in ''Who Was Who'' online edition, December 2007, https://dx.doi.org/10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U174615 (subscription site)</ref> and was a grandson of the Rev. Robert Workman Orr, a [[United Free Church of Scotland|United Free Church]] minister of [[Brechin]].<ref>"Called to the Bar", in ''Brechin Advertiser'' dated 7 July 1936, p. 5</ref> He was born in Rochford, Essex, and raised in Scotland.<ref name=obituary/> He was educated at [[Fettes College]], then an all-boys [[Independent school (UK)|independent]] [[boarding school]] in Edinburgh.<ref name="who" /> He studied classics at the [[University of Edinburgh]], where he graduated [[Master of Arts (Scotland)|undergraduate Master of Arts]] (MA Hons) degree in 1933, before studying [[jurisprudence]] at [[Balliol College, Oxford]] and graduating with a [[first class honours]] [[Bachelor of Arts]] (BA) degree.<ref name=who/>
===Military service=== During the [[Second World War]], he served in the [[Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve]]. On 1 June 1940, he was commissioned as an [[acting pilot officer]] on probation in the [[Materiel|Equipment]] Branch for the duration of hostilities.<ref name="LG 25 June 1940">{{London Gazette |issue= 34881 |date= 25 June 1940 |pages= 3870-3871 |supp= }}</ref> On 24 July 1940, he was regraded to [[pilot officer]] on probation.<ref name="LG 8 October 1940">{{London Gazette |issue= 34964 |date= 8 October 1940 |page= 5911 |supp= }}</ref> He was promoted to the [[war substantive rank]] of [[flying officer]] on 1 June 1941,<ref name="LG 1 August 1941">{{London Gazette |issue= 35235 |date= 1 August 1941 |page= 4455 |supp= }}</ref> and had his commission confirmed.<ref name="LG 22 August 1941">{{London Gazette |issue= 35254 |date= 22 August 1941 |page= 4880 |supp= }}</ref> He was promoted to [[temporary rank|temporary]] [[flight lieutenant]] on 1 September 1942,<ref name="LG 29 September 1942">{{London Gazette |issue= 35725 |date= 29 September 1942 |page= 4266 |supp= y }}</ref> and to war substantive flight lieutenant on 23 October 1942.<ref name="LG 1 December 1942">{{London Gazette |issue= 35809 |date= 1 December 1942 |page= 5286 |supp= y }}</ref> In the [[1944 King's Birthday Honours]], Acting [[Wing commander (rank)|Wing Commander]] Orr was appointed [[Officer of the Order of the British Empire]] (OBE).<ref name="LG 2 June 1944">{{London Gazette |issue= 36544 |date= 2 June 1944 |page= 2583 |supp= y }}</ref> He was promoted to war substantive [[squadron leader]] on 15 November 1944.<ref name="LG 16 January 1945">{{London Gazette |issue= 36898 |date= 16 January 1945 |page= 465 |supp= y }}</ref> In the [[1946 New Year Honours]], it was published that he had been [[mentioned in despatches]].<ref name="LG 28 December 1945">{{London Gazette |issue= 37407 |date= 28 December 1945 |pages= 88-91 |supp= y }}</ref> On 21 February 1956, having spent a number of years in the inactive reserves, he relinquished his commission and was allowed to retain the rank of wing commander.<ref name="LG 6 April 1956">{{London Gazette |issue= 40750 |date= 6 April 1956 |page= 2091 |supp= y }}</ref>
==Legal career== After graduating from Oxford, Orr joined the [[Middle Temple]] to train as a barrister. He was [[Call to the bar|called to the English bar]] in July 1936.<ref>''University of Edinburgh Journal'', Volume 8 (1937), p. 154: "...by the Middle Temple, Alan Stewart Orr, M.A. Edin. 1933... Mr Alan Stewart Orr is a holder of a Certificate of Honour awarded at the Trinity examination, 1936."</ref>
Orr was a barrister in the [[barristers' chambers|chambers]] of [[Wintringham Stable|Sir Wintringham Stable]] at 2, Crown Office Row, which in the 1970s moved premises and became known as [[Fountain Court Chambers]]. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, he started to build the chambers' reputation for commercial litigation, together with [[Leslie Scarman, Baron Scarman|Leslie Scarman QC]] and [[Melford Stevenson]] QC, supported by a notable clerk, Cyril Batchelor.<ref>[https://www.fountaincourt.co.uk/chambers/history/ History] at fountaincourt.co.uk. Retrieved 8 March 2019</ref> He was a member of the [[General Council of the Bar]] from 1953 to 1957. Well known as a "tax devil", Orr was raised to [[Queen's Counsel]] in 1958,<ref name=obituary>"Alan Stewart Orr" in David Heaton, John Higgins, eds., ''The Times Obituaries, Lives Remembered'' (Blewbury Press, 1991), p. 87</ref> and the same year was appointed as [[Recorder (judge)|Recorder]] of [[Windsor, Berkshire|New Windsor]], a part-time judicial role.<ref>"NEW RECORDER OF WINDSOR" in ''[[Reading Mercury]]'' dated 16 August 1958, p. 9: "Mr. Alan Stewart Orr, 46-years-old barrister, has been appointed by the Queen as the new Recorder of Windsor in place of Mr. J. C. D. Harington. Mr. Orr is at present on holiday touring Scotland with his wife and three sons..."</ref>
By 1962, he had become head of his chambers.<ref>John Gray, "[https://www.thetimes.com/article/lives-remembered-lord-bingham-of-cornhill-6l55g8tpp55 Lives remembered: Lord Bingham of Cornhill]" in ''[[The Times]]'' dated 1 October 2010. Retrieved 9 March 2019</ref> In April 1963, he was the Guest of Honour at the annual dinner of the [[Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland]].<ref>''The Accountant's Magazine'', January 1963 issue, in vol. 67 (Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland, 1963), p. 906</ref> In August 1964 he became a deputy chairman of the [[Oxfordshire]] [[Quarter Sessions]].<ref>"POST FOR Q.C.s" in ''[[Birmingham Daily Post]]'' dated 20 August 1964, p. 14</ref>
In 1965 Orr was appointed as a [[High Court judge]], joining the [[Probate, Divorce and Admiralty Division|Probate, Divorce, and Admiralty Division]], which was unusual, as he had only rarely appeared in it as a counsel.<ref name=obituary/> On 12 November 1965, he was knighted by [[Elizabeth II|Queen Elizabeth II]] at [[Buckingham Palace]].<ref>''[[The London Gazette]]'' issue 43816 dated 16 November 1965, [https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/43816/page/10663/data.pdf p. 10663]</ref> In 1967 he was elected as a [[Bencher|Master of the Bench]] of the Honourable Society of the Middle Temple.<ref>''The New Law Journal'', vol. 116, Part 1 (1967), p. 57</ref>
On 20 April 1971, together with [[John Stephenson (judge)|Sir John Stephenson]], Orr was appointed a Lord Justice of Appeal. On the same day, [[John Widgery, Baron Widgery|Sir John Passmore Widgery]] was created Lord Widgery and became [[Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales|Lord Chief Justice]].<ref>''[[The London Gazette]]'' issue 45348 dated 22 April 1971, [https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/45348/page/3995/data.pdf p. 3995]</ref> Judge Alfred Hollings QC was appointed to replace Orr in the Probate, Divorce, and Admiralty Division of the High Court,<ref>''Law Notes'', vol. 90 (1971), p. 114</ref> and Orr was also named as a member of the [[Privy Council of the United Kingdom]].<ref name=debrett/>
Orr retired as a Lord Justice in 1980,<ref name=obituary/> shortly after a less senior man, [[Geoffrey Lane, Baron Lane|Geoffrey Lane]], had been chosen by the [[Lord Chancellor]], [[Quintin Hogg, Baron Hailsham of St Marylebone|Lord Hailsham]], to succeed Widgery as Lord Chief Justice.
When he died in 1991, ''[[The Times]]'' said in its obituary: {{Blockquote|"Alan Orr was a quiet unassuming judge of exceptional quality. His career reminds us that good judges do not need, and are often better without, a charismatic public personality. In court he listened, he perceived truth with a quick and accurate mind and he knew the law: the result was findings of fact based on a detailed and perceptive understanding of the evidence, with the law applied accurately and lucidly. Not many appeals against an Orr judgement succeeded. Few outside the legal profession and the business community knew of him: he did justice consistently – and that is not news."<ref name=obituary/>}}
===Notable cases=== In 1963 and 1964, Orr represented [[George Wigg, Baron Wigg|George Wigg]], a Labour member of parliament, in a High Court action for [[libel]] against [[Angus Maude]], a [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] member. He won the case, and substantial damages were awarded.<ref>"Mr. George Wigg, Socialist M.P. for Dudley, is to receive substantial damages for libel from Mr. Angus Maude", in ''[[Birmingham Daily Post]]'' dated 16 January 1964, p. 18</ref>
In October 1966, the spy [[George Blake]] escaped from [[HM Prison Wormwood Scrubs]] and fled from Great Britain to the [[Soviet Union]], and a month later his wife, with whom he had three children, began divorce proceedings against him. In the High Court in March 1967, Orr granted her a [[decree nisi]] in Blake's absence, on the grounds that the conviction of a spouse for [[treason]] can amount to cruelty or constructive desertion, and also awarded the custody of the couple's three sons to Mrs Blake.<ref>Roger Hermiston, ''The Greatest Traitor: The Secret Lives of Agent George Blake'' (Aurum Press, 2013), p. 237</ref>
On 17 December 1968, Orr granted the actress [[Britt Ekland]] a decree nisi for divorce on the grounds of cruelty by [[Peter Sellers]], who did not contest the proceedings.<ref>"Actor Peter Sellers Regretted That His Marriage To Britt Ekland Had Broken Down A Divorce Court Judge Was Told Today", [[Associated Newspapers]] news release dated 17 December 1968</ref>
==Private life== In 1933, Orr married Mariana Frances Lilian, a daughter of Captain J. C. Lang, [[King's Own Scottish Borderers]]. In 1973 they were reported to be living at Highfield, Harmer Green, [[Welwyn]], Hertfordshire.<ref name=debrett>''Debrett's Peerage, Baronetage, Knightage, and Companionage'' (Kelly's Directories, 1973), p. 1238</ref> They had four sons James, Gavin, Mark, and Giles, and Lady Orr died in February 1986.<ref>"Lady Mariana Frances Lilian (Molly), beloved wife of the Rt Hon Sir Alan Orr", Notice of funeral on 20 February 1986 in ''[[The Times]]'' dated 17 February 1986</ref>
Orr was a member of the [[Oxford and Cambridge Club]].<ref name=debrett/> He died on 3 April 1991 at Kineton Manor Nursing Home, [[Kineton]], Warwickshire.<ref>"ORR, the right honourable Alan Stewart", in Probate Index for 1991 at probatesearch.service.gov.uk. Retrieved 8 March 2019</ref>
Portraits of Orr by [[Walter Bird (photographer)|Walter Bird]] and Rex Coleman of [[Baron (photographer)|Baron Studios]] are in the [[National Portrait Gallery, London|National Portrait Gallery]].<ref>[https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw238478/Sir-Alan-Stewart-Orr Sir Alan Stewart Orr by Walter Bird] and [https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw234745/Sir-Alan-Stewart-Orr Sir Alan Stewart Orr by Rex Coleman] at npg.org.uk/collections/. Retrieved 22 March 2019</ref>
==Notes== {{reflist}}
==External links== * {{NPG name}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Orr, Alan Stewart}} [[Category:1911 births]] [[Category:1991 deaths]] [[Category:Military personnel from Essex]] [[Category:Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford]] [[Category:Alumni of the University of Edinburgh]] [[Category:British barristers]] [[Category:20th-century English judges]] [[Category:Probate, Divorce and Admiralty Division judges]] [[Category:Knights Bachelor]] [[Category:Lord justices of appeal]] [[Category:Members of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council]] [[Category:Officers of the Order of the British Empire]] [[Category:People educated at Fettes College]] [[Category:People from Welwyn]] [[Category:Royal Air Force officers]] [[Category:Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II]] [[Category:Members of the Middle Temple]]