St John Branch

Sir Charles Ernest St John Branch KC
23rd Chief Justice of Ceylon
In office 3 July 1925 – 25 May 1926
Appointed by	William Manning
Preceded by	Anton Bertram
Succeeded by	Stanley Fisher
Chief Justice of Jamaica
In office 1923–1925
Preceded by	Sir Anthony Coll
Succeeded by	Fiennes Barrett-Lennard
Personal details
Born	(1865-06-02)2 June 1865 Trinidad
Died	1939 Horsham, West Sussex, UK
Children	Denzil Templer Branch
Alma mater	Durham University

Sir Charles Ernest St John Branch KC (2 June 1865 – 1939), known as St John Branch, was a British colonial administrator, who served as Chief Justice of Jamaica 1923-25 and the 23rd Chief Justice of Ceylon 1925-26.

Career

Branch was born in San Ferdinand, Trinidad, the eldest son of Rev. Canon Branch.

He was assistant attorney-general of the British Leeward Islands in 1900. In 1910 he was made Auditor General of Jamaica and in 1921 a puisne judge in the Straits Settlements. In 1923 he returned to Jamaica as Chief Justice, a position he held until 1925. He was made a Knight Bachelor in the 1924 Birthday Honours.^[1]

On 3 July 1925 he was appointed Chief Justice of Ceylon, succeeding Anton Bertram, a position he held until 25 May 1926, when he was succeeded by Stanley Fisher.^[2][3][4]

He died in Horsham, West Sussex in 1939.

Family

Branch married at Christ Church, Crookham, on 24 March 1900, to Agnes Irene Templer, daughter of Philip Arthur Templer, former Administrator of Dominica.^[5] They had two sons, the younger of which was killed in World War II.

References

1. "No. 32959". The London Gazette. 25 July 1924. p. 5636.
2. "Overview". Judicial Service Commission Secretariat. Archived from the original on 19 October 2013. Retrieved 19 October 2013.
3. "BRANCH, Sir (Charles Ernest) St John". Who's Who & Who Was Who. A & C Black. Retrieved 7 January 2013. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
4. Amerasinghe, A. Ranjit B. (1986). The Supreme Court of Sri Lanka : the first 185 years. Ratmalana: Sarvodaya Book Pub. Services. ISBN 955599000X.
5. "Marriages". The Times. No. 36100. London. 27 March 1900. p. 1.

Legal offices
Preceded by Anton Bertram	Chief Justice of Ceylon 1925-1926	Succeeded by Stanley Fisher
Preceded by Sir Anthony Coll	Chief Justice of Jamaica 1923-1925	Succeeded by Fiennes Barrett-Lennard