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Gary Flather

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Gerald "Gary" Denis Flather, QC, OBE, (4 October 1937 – 9 October 2017) was an English barrister, judge and disability rights campaigner. Flather was the son of Denis Gerald Flather, group managing director of the family steel company based in Sheffield,[1][2] and Joan Ada (née Walker).[3] He was educated at Oundle School and Pembroke College, Oxford.[4] He sat for ten years as a deputy High Court judge, and for 27 years as a recorder. He founded the Bar Council Disability Committee, amongst other things campaigning for improved access in courts and for disabled students' rights.[4][5]

Flather married Shreela Rai, a politician, daughter of Rai Bahadur Aftab Rai, of New Delhi, India, a barrister and diplomat. Flather fought multiple sclerosis for forty years, necessitating the use of a wheelchair.[4][3][6][7] Flather was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 1999 New Year Honours "for services to the Legal Profession and to promoting Disability Awareness."[8]

References

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  1. ^ Leviathan- The Business Who's Who, Leviathan House, 1972, p. 129
  2. ^ "W. T. Flather - Graces Guide".
  3. ^ a b Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage, 107th edition, vol. 1, ed. Charles Mosley, Burke's Peerage Ltd, 2003, p. 1444
  4. ^ a b c "Gary Flather". Thetimes.co.uk. 21 October 2017. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
  5. ^ https://www.graysinn.org.uk/sites/default/files/documents/news/Bar%20Council%20news%20update%20-%2023-10-2017.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  6. ^ "Family pays tribute to former judge Gary Flather". Maidenhead-advertiser.co.uk. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
  7. ^ "When justice is blind - or comes to court in a wheelchair". Independent.co.uk. 22 October 2011.
  8. ^ UK list: "No. 55354". The London Gazette (1st supplement). 31 December 1998. p. 10.