Eric Clegg

Brief description

PER-122

Full description

Eric Clegg was born on 8 March 1901 at Mosman, the son of Thomas Bailey Clegg and his wife Florence nee Linnett. He was educated at Sydney Church of England Grammar School. He was admitted as a solicitor on 6 June 1923 and to the New South Wales Bar on 2 May 1935. In 1952 he became a Queen's Counsel. (1)

Clegg served with the Australian Military Forces during World War II. He enlisted on 25 February 1942 and was discharged on 7 September 1945. At the time of his discharge he was a Lieutenant with the Volunteer Defence Corps. He was awarded the Australian Service Medal 1939-1945. (2)

Clegg was appointed a Judge of the District Courts and a Chairman of Quarter Sessions on 1 April 1953. He retired on 8 March 1971. In 1965 he wrote 'Return Your Verdict', a review of ten murder cases he believed to be 'some of the most interesting and bizarre of Australian murders', including the Kalgoorlie murders of 1926, the Snowt Rowles case, the Pyjama Girl and the Sundown murder. (3)

Clegg was an alderman of Mosman Council from 1930 to 1936. In the 1970s he was a member of the Australian Academy of Forensic Science. His hobbies included orchid raising, gardening, golf and bowls. (4)

He died on 18 April 1978 after a long illness, survived by his wife Margarethe Anna nee Henning, whom he married on 21 April 1928, and a daughter. (5)

Endnotes
1. Who's Who in Australia, Melbourne, Herald and Weekly Times, 1955, p.174; 1959, p.178; 1962, p.181; 1965, p.183; 1968, p.186; 1971, p.205; 1974, p.221; 1977, p.229; HJH Henchman, A Court Rises: the lives and times of the judges of the District Court of New South Wales. Supplement No.1. 1959-1982, Judge 65, Syd., Law Foundation of New South Wales, 1982, n.p.; Australian Law Journal, Vol.52, p.471 (August 1978); Barrister and Solicitors Admission Boards; NRS 13666, Attorneys' Roll No.3, 13 March 1914-19 November 1926; Reel 2147, p.15; Barrister and Solicitors Admission Boards; NRS 13665, Roll of Barristers, 17 February 1927-10 June 1955; Reel 2147, p.9.
2. Department of Veterans Affairs, World War 2 Nominal Roll, http://www.ww2roll.gov.au/script/veteran.asp?ServiceID=A&VeteranID=412548 (cited 27 May 2008); I.S.Wright, Militaria catalogue 618, http://iswright.com.au/catalog/militaria618.doc (cited 27 May 2008).
3. New South Wales Law Almanac for 1954, Sydney, NSW Government Printer, 1954, p.56; Henchman, op.cit.; Eric Clegg, Return Your Verdict, Sydney, Angus and Robertson, 1965, Preface; Australian Law Journal, Vol.9, p.24 (15 May 1935); Vol.26, p.650 (21 April 1953).
4. Who's Who in Australia, op.cit.
5. Who's Who in Australia, ibid.; Henchman, op.cit.

Notes

Judge, District Courts of New South Wales, 01/04/1953 - 08/03/1971
Chairman, Quarter Sessions, 01/04/1953 - 08/03/1971