John Pennycuick (judge)

Sir John Pennycuick
Vice-Chancellor
In office 1970–1974
Justice of the High Court
In office 1960–1974
Personal details
Born	John Pennycuick 6 November 1899 Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Scotland
Died	14 January 1982 London, England
Nationality	British
Education	Winchester College New College, Oxford
Occupation	Judge
Profession	Law

Sir John Pennycuick (6 November 1899 – 14 January 1982) was an English barrister, judge. He was a High Court judge from 1960 to 1974, and Vice-Chancellor of the Chancery Division from the recreation of the office in 1970 until 1974.

He was also an amateur tennis player who competed at the Wimbledon Championships between 1925 and 1931.

Early life and legal career

Pennycuick was the only son of the British Army officer and engineer Colonel John Pennycuick, CSI (1841–1911). His father was the tenth of the eleven children of Brigadier John Pennycuick (1789–1849), who was killed in the Battle of Chillianwala in the Second Anglo-Sikh War.

He was educated at Winchester College and New College, Oxford. He also attended the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, and later became a second lieutenant in the Coldstream Guards in 1919.

He was called to the bar at Inner Temple in 1925, where later he became a bencher in 1954. He became a Queen's Counsel in 1947.

Legal career

He was appointed as a High Court judge in 1960, in the Chancery Division, and received the customary knighthood. Pennycuick became the first modern Vice-Chancellor in July 1970 when the office was revived to replace the title of "Senior Judge" for the head of the Chancery Division. He was appointed as a Privy Counsellor in the Queen's Birthday Honours List in June 1974, and retired as a full-time Chancery judge in September 1974, although he continued to sit as a judge occasionally. Appointed Tresurer of the Inner Temple from 1978 to 1979.

Tennis career

Once Sir John began started to work in the law courts, he took up the sport of tennis and became a notable amateur tennis player who went onto win 12 career singles titles between 1925 and 1938. In major tournaments between 1925 and 1931, he competed at the Wimbledon Championships six times in the men's singles events. He advanced to the third round in 1925 where he lost to the Indian player Jagat Mohan Lal, and 1926 where he was beaten by Czech international Jan Koželuh.

His career singles highlights included winning the Cinque Ports Championships three times in 1926, 1927 and 1929, the Hampshire Championships in 1927, the South Herefordshire Championships in 1931 and 1934, the Birchington Open in 1933 and 1936, the Wiltshire Championships in 1934 and 1935, and the Kent Coast Championships in 1937 and 1938.

Family

He married Lucy Johnstone in 1930, and they had one son and one daughter. His wife predeceased him in 1972.

Sources

• Obituary in The Times, 15 January 1982, p. 10.

External links

• Wimbledon Official Player Profile: John Pennycuick.
• Portrait from the National Portrait Gallery