William Webb (judge)

The Honourable Sir William Webb KBE
Webb in 1940, as Chief Justice of Queensland
Justice of the High Court of Australia
In office 16 May 1946 – 16 May 1958
Nominated by	Ben Chifley
Preceded by	none*
Succeeded by	Sir Douglas Menzies
Personal details
Born	21 January 1887 Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Died	11 August 1972
*The High Court bench had remained at six since the retirement of Sir Isaac Isaacs in 1931. Webb's appointment re-established a seven-member bench.

Sir William Flood Webb KBE (21 January 1887 – 11 August 1972) was a judge of the Supreme Court of Queensland and the High Court of Australia. He was President of the International Military Tribunal for the Far East after the end of World War II.

William Flood Webb was born in Brisbane on 21 January 1887. He was educated at St Mary's School in Warwick, Queensland. He studied at the University of Queensland, from which he graduated with a Bachelor of Laws. On 4 June 1913, Webb was admitted to the Queensland Bar, after scoring a very high 71.5% on the bar examination on 20 May. On 17 March 1917, he married Beatrice Agnew at the Sacred Heart Church in Sandgate. He died in Brisbane on 11 August 1972.

In 1915, Webb was the State Public Defender for Queensland and, from 1917 to 1922, was the Crown Solicitor. He was promoted to be Solicitor-General of Queensland in 1922, a position he held until 1925.

Webb was also a Judge of the Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration from 1922 to 1927 and, from 1925 to 1945, was President of the Queensland Court of Arbitration.

Webb was appointed as a puisne judge on 24 April 1925 to the Supreme Court of Queensland. He held this position until, on 17 May 1940, he became senior puisne judge of the same court. On 27 June 1940 he was promoted to Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, an office he held until 15 May 1946, when he left to take a seat on the High Court of Australia.