Judge Roger Elsey (1954 – 2021)
October 25, 2021
Members of chambers and staff were saddened to learn of the death of their former colleague, Judge Roger Elsey on 20th October 2021.
A graduate of Newcastle University, Roger William Elsey was called to the Bar in 1977 (Gray’s Inn) and became a member of Guildhall Chambers in Newcastle before joining the chambers of Ian Dawson at 73 Westgate Road which subsequently merged with Broad Chare Chambers. He was Pupil Master to successive heads of the Dere Street criminal team, Her Honour Judge Julie Clemitson and Tony Davis.
Brian Bell, for many years our distinguished Senior Clerk at 51 Westgate Road and Broad Chare, described Roger as “an honourable gentleman who was an absolute gem to clerk.”
In 1999 he was appointed an acting Stipendiary Magistrate until his full-time appointment as District Judge (Magistrates’ Courts) in 2004 at Teesside, then Sunderland and South Shields where he dealt with both family and criminal cases. Since 2019 he has also been the Resident Judge of the Sovereign Base Areas of Cyprus where he died in service.
Judge Elsey was a man of arts, culture and Anglican affairs. He will be warmly remembered as an excellent judge, and as a lovely man who was held in the highest esteem by his professional colleagues not least for his kindness, courtesy and optimism.
Everyone at Dere Street joins in sending our heartfelt condolences to his wife Susan and their family.
