John Wheatley, Baron Wheatley

Who was John Wheatley, Baron Wheatley?

John Thomas Wheatley, Baron Wheatley PC, KC was a Scottish Labour politician and judge.

Educated at St. Aloysius' College, Glasgow, Mount St. Mary's College, Sheffield, and the University of Glasgow he was admitted as an advocate in 1932. He served in the Royal Artillery and the Judge Advocate Generals' Branch during World War II. He may have been the last advocate to appear before the Court of Session in military uniform. As a young man he played football for Shettleston F.C..

He was an unsuccessful parliamentary candidate for Bute and North Ayrshire in 1945 and for Glasgow Bridgeton in 1946, where he was defeated by the Independent Labour Party candidate. He was elected for Edinburgh East at a by-election in November 1947 and sat for the constituency until 1954.

He was Solicitor General for Scotland from March to October 1947, when he was appointed Lord Advocate. He was appointed a King's Counsel and a Privy Counsellor in 1947. One of his most significant achievements as a politician was the establishment of the legal aid scheme in Scotland. He was appointed to the bench, with the judicial title Lord Wheatley.