William James Cullen, Lord Cullen
William James Cullen LLB QC (9 September 1859 – 19 June 1941) was a Scottish judge.
Early life
Cullen was the son of Thomas Cullen, an inspector of stamps and taxes in Edinburgh.[1] He was educated at Edinburgh Collegiate School and at the University of Edinburgh, where he graduated with an MA in 1880[2] and an LLB in 1883.[3]
Career
In 1884, Cullen joined the company of J & F Adam[1] as a writer to the signet,[2] a specialist form of solicitor. He switched to the other branch of the legal profession, and was admitted as an advocate in 1891.[2] He built his reputation specialising in the law of conveyancing, land and inheritance,[1] and took silk in 1905.[4]
From 1905 to 1906, Cullen worked as an advocate depute, a junior prosecutor.[2] In July 1906, he was appointed as Sheriff of Fife and Kinross, replacing the deceased Robert Younger KC.[5] In April 1907 he became an unpaid Commissioner For Lunacy,[6] and in 1909 he was raised to the bench as a Senator of the College of Justice with the judicial title of Lord Cullen,[2] filling the vacancy caused the resignation of Lord Pearson.[7]
An unflamboyant judge who disliked public speaking and avoided ceremonies where possible,[1] Cullen was promoted in 1918 to the Inner House, where he sat in the Valuation Appeal Court.[1] He resigned from the court in 1925, and his seat was given to David Fleming KC, who became Lord Fleming.[8]
Personal life
In 1888, Cullen married Grace Rutherfurd Clark (1864-1943), from Manchester.[2] They had one daughter, and two sons:[1] Keith Douglas Cullen (born 1889), who became an advocate in 1919;[9] and William Geoffrey Langley Cullen (1894-1915) who died whilst serving as a second lieutenant in the Royal Scots during the First World War.[10]
He died at his home in Edinburgh on 19 June 1941, aged 81.[1]
He is buried in Dean Cemetery in western Edinburgh beneath a simple white cross in the south-west section (to the north of the huge Buchanan monument).
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Obituaries". The Times (Issue 48958). London. 21 June 1941. p. 6. Retrieved 10 January 2011 – via The Times Digital Archive.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Hesilridge, Arthur G. M. (ed.). Debrett's House of Commons and the Judicial Bench. London: Dean & Son. p. 353. Retrieved 9 January 2011 – via archive.org.
- ↑ "University Intelligence". The Times (Issue 30888). London. 2 August 1883. p. 8. Retrieved 9 January 2011 – via The Times Digital Archive.
- ↑ The Edinburgh Gazette: no. 11778. p. 1117. 17 November 1905. Retrieved 9 January 2016.
- ↑ The Edinburgh Gazette: no. 11846. p. 750. 13 July 1906. Retrieved 9 January 2016.
- ↑ The London Gazette: no. 28010. p. 2330. 5 April 1907. Retrieved 9 January 2016.
- ↑ The Edinburgh Gazette: no. 12161. p. 785. 20 July 1909. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
- ↑ The Edinburgh Gazette: no. 14193. p. 1. 1 January 1926. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
- ↑ Grant, Sir Francis James (1944). The Faculty of Advocates in Scotland, 1532–1943: With Genealogical Notes. Edinburgh: Scottish Record Society. p. 47. Retrieved 9 January 2011 – via Google Snippet view.
Cullen, Keith Douglas MA LLB. 14 Mar 1919. Son of William James Cullen, born 26 June 1889
- ↑ http://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead.aspx?cpage=1