Sidney Abrahams

Sir Sidney Solomon Abrahams PC QC (11 February 1885 – 14 May 1957), nicknamed Solly, was a British Olympic athlete and 26th Chief Justice of Ceylon (Sri Lanka). He was the older brother of famed Olympian Harold Abrahams.

For the West Indian cricketer, see Sidney Abrahams (cricketer).

The Right Honourable Sir Sidney Abrahams QC
Sir Sidney Abrahams
26th Chief Justice of Ceylon
In office 3 July 1936 – 1939
Appointed by	Reginald Edward Stubbs
Preceded by	Philip James Macdonell
Succeeded by	John Curtois Howard Francis Soertsz as acting
Personal details
Born	(1885-02-01)1 February 1885 Birmingham, England
Died	14 May 1957(1957-05-14) (aged 72)
Nationality	British
Alma mater	Cambridge University

Early life

Born in Birmingham, England, Abrahams was educated at Bedford Modern School[1] and Emmanuel College, Cambridge.

He competed at athletics for Cambridge University from 1904 to 1906. At the unofficial Olympiad, the 1906 'Intercalated Games' held in Athens, he finished fifth in the long jump with 6.21 metres. At the 1912 Stockholm Olympics he finished in eleventh place in the same event with 6.72 metres. At the 1913 Amateur Athletic Association Championships in London, he won the long jump with 6.86 metres.

He studied law at the Middle Temple and was called to the bar in 1909.

Career

He joined the Colonial Service and was Advocate General in Baghdad in 1920 and President of the Civil Courts in Basra in 1921. After serving as Attorney General of Zanzibar (1922), Uganda (1925) and Gold Coast (1928), Abrahams was appointed Chief Justice of Uganda in 1933 and Chief Justice of Tanganyika in 1934.[2]

He then served as Chief Justice of Ceylon from 1936-1939 and was knighted in 1936. The most celebrated case he presided over was that of the Australian Mark Anthony Bracegirdle, whom the Governor of British Ceylon Sir Reginald Stubbs was attempting to have deported; the court ruled against the Governor. He was founder-president of the Medico-Legal Society of Ceylon. He was succeeded by John Curtois Howard, after the acting Francis Soertsz.[3] He retired from the bench in 1939.

Sidney Abrahams chaired a Committee on the Administration of Justice in Nigeria. He was later Senior Legal Assistant to the Commonwealth Relations Office, and played a major role in the suspension of the People's Progressive Party Government of Cheddi Jagan in British Guiana (Guyana) in 1953.

He was elected president of the London Athletic Club. Abrahams was the first Jew to hold the post.

Abrahams was married to Ruth Bowman and they had two children, Valerie and Anthony Abrahams.

See also

• List of select Jewish track and field athletes

References

1. "Who's Who 1935", Published by A&C Black Ltd, 1935
2. Rubinstein, William. The Palgrave Dictionary of Anglo-Jewish History. p. 11.
3. "Overview". Judicial Service Commission Secretariat. Archived from the original on 19 October 2013. Retrieved 19 October 2013.

• T. Perera, 'The Bracegirdle Saga: 60 Years After', What Next, No 5 1997
• Abrahams, Sidney 'Solly', Jews in Sport Online
• American Involvement in Guyana in 1953, History of Guyana

Legal offices
Preceded by Philip James Macdonell	Chief Justice of Ceylon 1936-1939	Succeeded by John Curtois Howard Francis Soertsz as acting