Phillip Bridges
Sir Phillip Bridges QC | |
|---|---|
| Chief Justice of the Gambia | |
| In office 1968–1983 | |
| President | Sir Dawda Jawara |
| Preceded by | Joseph Wiseham |
| Succeeded by | Emmanuel Ayoola |
| Attorney General of the Gambia | |
| In office 1964–1968 | |
| Prime Minister | Sir Dawda Jawara |
| Succeeded by | Momadu Lamin Saho |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 9 July 1922 Bedford, England |
| Died | 26 December 2007 (aged 85) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Branch/service | British Army |
| Years of service | c. 1940–1946 |
| Unit | Royal Artillery |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
Sir Phillip Rodney Bridges
Early life
Bridges was born on 9 July 1922 near Bedford,[1] the son of Sir Ernest Bridges, a commodore of Royal Mail Lines. He was educated at Bedford School.[2]
Military service
Bridges was commissioned into the
Legal career
After his military service, Bridges qualified as a solicitor in the United Kingdom. In 1954, he was posted to the Gambia Colony and Protectorate as a lands officer. He worked as Registrar General and Assistant Attorney General before becoming Solicitor General in 1963 and Attorney General in 1964. He helped draft the Gambian constitution prior to independence.[2][3]
The Gambia became independent in 1965, but Bridges remained in his post until 1968. This was unusual for post-independence African countries and he was the only European in the Gambian cabinet after independence.[1][4]
Bridges was appointed as
Bridges was made a
Retirement and death
He retired to England in 1983 and became the representative of The Gambia Legion in the UK and an honorary legal advisor to the British Ex-Commonwealth Services League. He contributed a chapter to The Gambia's Studies in Politics and Society, published in 1991.[2] He died in December 2007 in Suffolk.[1] Writing in 2012, Hassan Bubacar Jallow said that Bridges' "sense of justice and fair play, his personal integrity and deep dedication to the Gambian people were never at any time in question during his long career."[3]
References
- ^ ISBN 978-1-442-26526-4.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Sir Phillip Bridges". The Daily Telegraph. London. 2 April 2008. Retrieved 18 June 2017.
- ^ a b c Jallow, Hassan B. (2012). Journey for Justice. Authorhouse UK. pp. 144–145.
- ^ a b Hughes, Arnold; Perfect, David (2006). A Political History of The Gambia, 1816-1994. Rochester, NY: University of Rochester Press. pp. 47, 171.
- ^ Darnton, John (21 April 1977). "Tiny Gambia Represents One of Africa's Success Stories". The New York Times. Retrieved 8 June 2020.