26 Facts About Denys Roberts

Sir Denys Tudor Emil Roberts was a British colonial official and judge.

Denys Roberts was the first and only Attorney-General to become both Colonial Secretary in Hong Kong.

Denys Roberts was educated in Aldenham School in his childhood, and later studied law in Wadham College, Oxford in 1942.

Denys Roberts's education was interrupted when he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Royal Artillery on 2 November 1943.

Denys Roberts was posted to India when the war ended in 1945.

Denys Roberts obtained his Master of Arts degree in 1948, Bachelor of Civil Law degree in 1949, and was made an honorary fellow of Wadham College in 1984.

Denys Roberts played cricket for Hertfordshire in the 1948 Minor Counties Championship, playing a single match against Bedfordshire.

Denys Roberts served for only two years, which was much shorter than his predecessors, and was posted out of Gibraltar in 1962.

In 1962, Denys Roberts was sent to Hong Kong as Solicitor General and was made a Queen's Counsel of Hong Kong on 8 September 1964.

Denys Roberts was appointed Attorney-General by then Governor Sir David Trench in 1966 and became ex officio member of both Executive and Legislative Councils of Hong Kong, promoted Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 1970 New Year Honours, and was appointed Colonial Secretary, succeeding Sir Hugh Norman-Walker, by Governor Sir Murray MacLehose in 1973.

Denys Roberts was the first and only Attorney-General to become Colonial Secretary in the history of Hong Kong.

Denys Roberts continued to hold the position when Colonial Secretary was renamed Chief Secretary in 1976.

Denys Roberts paid particular attention to trade development and visited a number of places, including the United States and Latin America, to promote trade relations.

Denys Roberts was acting Governor for a number of occasions when the Governor was absent.

In 1979, Denys Roberts was appointed Chief Justice of Hong Kong.

Denys Roberts's appointment aroused a brief sensation as he had never been a judge and was the first and only Chief Secretary to become Chief Justice in Hong Kong.

Besides becoming Chief Justice of Hong Kong, Denys Roberts was appointed honorary bencher of Lincoln's Inn in 1978.

Denys Roberts was the first Chief Justice to visit People's Republic of China when he visited Canton, Shanghai and Beijing in 1983 under an individual invitation by the Chinese Government.

Denys Roberts witnessed the opening of the new Supreme Court Building at 38 Queensway in 1984.

Accordingly, Denys Roberts continued to serve as Chief Justice of Brunei Darussalam after his retirement and became President of the Court of Appeal of Bermuda from 1988 to 1994.

Denys Roberts took part in the Minor Counties Championship representing Hertfordshire in 1948.

Denys Roberts was president of Marylebone Cricket Club from 1989 to 1990.

Denys Roberts was a member of the Royal Commonwealth Society and wrote a number of books and stories on law and colonial life.

Denys Roberts published his memoir, Another Disaster, in 2006, in which he recounted his life in the colonies.

Denys Roberts lived in retirement in Norfolk, England, where he spent his time writing.

David Wilson, the Governor of Hong Kong when Denys Roberts was Chief Justice, delivered an address.