|
Justice Kipling Douglas
Standing
six feet two and a half inches tall, Justice Kipling Douglas may be
referred to as a giant of a man simply by virtue of his height and
well-proportioned frame.
“By that time Leslie had already completed a degree in Home Economics at McGill University in Canada. We had met in 1956 while she was working at the Bureau of Standards in Jamaica. We got married in 1957 in England. the UK.“In England, I joined the staff of the London County Council, working in the Finance Division,” he said. “I had always wanted to do law. However, in those days Latin was a requirement. So, I studied the subject in the evenings while at the Council. After two years, I passed the course and I was admitted to Middle Temple, a twelfth century institution, in 1960. By that time, our first child, Mark, was two years old. “I completed my course in two and a half years and was called to the bar in 1963. We then returned to Jamaica where I began private practice and I had twenty fulfilling years in the legal fraternity while based in Jamaica.” Among the highlights in these twenty years that followed, up to the time he left Jamaica for good in 1983, Mr Douglas includes the birth of their second child, daughter, Elizabeth, in 1964. He also includes a trophy won in 1967 for his win in a 370-mile motor rally in Jamaica. He also included his Chairmanship of the Juvenile Authority of Western Jamaica by 1972, Resident Magistrate for the parish of St James, promotion to Senior Resident Magistrate at the Half-Way-Tree Court in Kingston by 1978 and Chairman of the prestigious Liguanea Club. “After starting off my full-time posting in Cayman in 1983 as a Stipendiary Magistrate, by 1988 I was promoted to Senior Stipendiary Magistrate,” Mr Douglas said. Throughout the years Mr Douglas has been a member of varying committees including the Drug Advisory Council. For a number of years he was Acting Grand Court Judge and Acting Chief Justice here in Cayman. Since 1983, the only time the Douglas family have not lived in Cayman was between 1993 to 1996 when Mr Douglas filled the post of Chief Justice for the Turks and Caicos Islands. The son of a medical doctor and a mother who was a telegraph clerk, Justice Douglas is one of five children. One of his brothers is well known in Jamaican as a doctor, Professor Lawson Douglas, and who is also a visiting physician to the Cayman Islands. His sister Lois, Lady Smith, is also a doctor and was head of the Health Service in Barbados until her retirement. Her husband Sir Frederick Smith was one of a two-man commission sent by the British Government to Cayman in 1990 to devise a new constitution for the Islands. “My baby brother is a Laboratory Technician in Canada and my other sister, now deceased, was a Lieutenant Colonel in the British Army, posted in Hong Kong,” he said. Mr Douglas explained that he retired as Judge of the Grand Court in Cayman in 2000 and joined the FRA in January 2004 when it was formed. At 75, his hobbies include playing tennis, photography and philately. He is the author of the poetry books “Mother Buck and other verses” and “Age Quod Agis – A Story of Wolmers Boys School.” However, the pride in Mr Douglas’ voice was most evident when he spoke of their classic car. “It is a 1970 Morris Minor and first belonged to Leslie’s mother. It is in good working order and it is the only one on the Island,” he said.
See also:
Any contributions will be gratefully accepted
|
The content of this website is a collection of materials gathered from a variety of sources, some of it unedited. The webmaster does not intend to claim authorship, but gives credit to the originators for their work. As work progresses, some of the content may be re-written and presented in a unique format, to which we would then be able to claim ownership. Discussion and contributions from those more knowledgeable is welcome. Last modified: Friday, 02 August 2024 |