Gilbert Walter King Explained

Gilbert Walter King
Honorific-Suffix:OBE
Office1:Registrar, British Supreme Court for China
Term Start1:1908
Term End1:1930
Predecessor1:John Douglas
Successor1:Cyril Haines
Office2:Assistant Judge, British Supreme Court for China
Term Start2:1927
Term End2:1931
Predecessor2:Peter Grain
Successor2:Penrhyn Grant Jones
Birth Date:1871 6, df=yes
Birth Place:Bombay, India
Death Place:Reigate, England

Gilbert Walter King OBE (30 June 1871  - 23 December 1937) was a British judge who served in China. His last position before retirement was as Assistant Judge of the British Supreme Court for China.

Early life

King was born in Bombay, India, on 30 June 1871. His father, Alfred King, was a storekeeper and then an accountant for the Great Indian Peninsula Railway. His mother, Mary, was also born in Bombay.[1] King was educated at Brighton Grammar School and London University, where he graduated with an LL.B in 1895. He then practiced as a solicitor in London.[2]

Legal career

King was appointed Assistant Clerk of the British Supreme Court for China and Corea on 1 April 1903. At that time, his elder brother, Harold King, was sitting as Acting Assistant Judge of the court. King was promoted to Registrar in 1908 and served in that position until 1927. In 1919, he re-qualified as a barrister and was called to the bar at Gray's Inn. He was awarded an OBE in 1925.[3]

In November 1927, he was appointed Assistant Judge of the court on the promotion of the then Assistant Judge, Peter Grain to Judge.[4]

Retirement and death

King retired in 1931 and was succeeded by Penrhyn Grant Jones.

He died six years later, on 23 December 1937, at his home at Reigate, England, at the age of 66.[2]

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. P.D. Coates, China Consuls, - biographical information for H.F. King (King's brother), p521. 1911 Census information. www.family search.org
  2. Obituary, The Times, 24 December 1937
  3. "O.B.E. for Mr GW King", North China Herald, 18 July 1925, p27
  4. North China Herald, 1 October 1927