Edward Gardner (MP)

Sir Edward Lucas Gardner, QC (10 May 1912 – 2 August 2001) was a barrister and British Conservative Party politician. Upon his death, The Guardian referred to him as 'the last of the pre-war-style Conservative QC-MPs'.

Gardner was born in Preston, Lancashire on 10 May 1912 and was educated at Hutton Grammar School. After leaving education he initially worked as a journalist.

Gardner married Nina Collins in 1950 (having one son, one daughter) but was divorced in 1962. Then in 1963 he married Joan Belcher (also having one son, one daughter); this second marriage lasting until Joan's death in 1999. Gardner died in Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire on 2 August 2001 aged 89.

Gardner served in the Royal Navy during the Second World War, surviving the sinking of two ships. In 1945 he was appointed a Commander in the RNVR and Chief of Naval Information (East Indies).

Gardner became a barrister, called to the bar by Gray's Inn in 1947, and was deputy chairman of the Kent quarter sessions. He became a distinguished and a Recorder of the Crown Court from 1972 to 1985. Gardner was appointed as a Queen's Counsel in 1960 and was subsequently admitted to the Nigerian and British Guianan bars: he also appeared in the courts of Goa, the High Court of Singapore and the Supreme Court of India, besides having an extensive practice in England.

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