Christopher Shawcross

Christopher Nyholm Shawcross QC
Born	(1905-06-20)20 June 1905
Died	18 August 1973(1973-08-18) (aged 68) Haywards Heath, Sussex, England
Education	Dulwich College
Alma mater	University College, Oxford
Occupation	Lawyer & politician
Spouse(s)	Doreen Burrows ​ ​ (m. 1931; div. 1949)​ Maridel Chance ​ (m. 1949)​
Children	2
Parents	John Shawcross (father) Hilda Constance Asser (mother)
Relatives	Hartley Shawcross (brother)
Military career
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service / branch	Royal Navy
Years of service	1939-45
Rank	Commander
Unit	Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve
Battles / wars	World War II

Christopher Nyholm Shawcross, QC (20 June 1905 – 18 August 1973) was a British lawyer and Labour politician.

He was the younger son of John Shawcross and Hilda Constance Asser.^[1] He was educated at Dulwich College and University College, Oxford, before going on to study law at Gray's Inn.^[2]

He was called to the bar in 1931 and practised at the Common Law Bar in London and in the Midland Circuit.^[2] With the outbreak of the Second World War, Shawcross joined the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve, where he reached the rank of Commander.^[3][2]

At the 1945 general election he was returned as Labour MP for Widnes. He was a Europhile parliamentarian, serving on the Parliamentary Committee on the Channel Tunnel, the all party group for European Union, and the British Council of the European Movement. He retired from politics in 1950, becoming Recorder of Nottingham.^[2]

He became a King's Counsel in 1949, and pursued a distinguished legal career. In particular he worked in new areas of law, producing books on motor insurance and air law.^[2][4][5] he retired from the Bar in 1961, but returned to practice in the South Eastern Circuit in 1969.

Christopher Shawcross married twice. His 1931 marriage to Doreen Burrows was dissolved in 1949, and he married Maridel Chance in the same year and they had two children.^[6][2] He was the younger brother of Hartley Shawcross, also a distinguished lawyer and Labour politician.

He died at his home in Haywards Heath, Sussex, aged 68.^[2]

References

Leigh Rayment's Peerage Pages ^{[self-published source] [better source needed]}

1. Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 106th edition, Charles Mosley, Burke's Peerage Ltd, 1999, p. 2594
2. Obituary: Mr C. N. Shawcross, The Times, 21 August 1973, p.14
3. Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 106th edition, Charles Mosley, Burke's Peerage Ltd, 1999, p. 2594
4. C N Shawcross, The Law of Motor Insurance, London, 1935
5. Christopher N Shawcross and others, Shawcross and Beaumont on Air Law, London, 1951
6. Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 106th edition, Charles Mosley, Burke's Peerage Ltd, 1999, p. 2594

External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Christopher Shawcross

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Richard Pilkington	Member of Parliament for Widnes 1945–1950	Succeeded by James MacColl