40 | FOREVER Keele
In Memoriam
Judge Alistair McCreath
LAW & POLITICS 1971
His Honour Judge Alistair McCreath sadly died on 30 January 2022 , aged 73 . Master McCreath was Called to the Bar in 1972 , and had a civil , family and criminal law practise from 1973 , at what was then No 6 Fountain Court in Birmingham , before it became Cornwall Street , for 23 years . His judicial career began in 1986 when he was appointed Assistant Recorder , and he subsequently became a Recorder in 1990 . He was appointed a Circuit Judge in 1996 and sat full-time as a judge until his retirement in 2017 .
Between 1996 and 2006 , he sat at Birmingham Crown Court , trying a wide variety of cases , including serious sexual offences , major fraud and , latterly , murder . In 2006 , Master McCreath was invited to move to Worcester Combined Court Centre as the Resident Judge . He became the Honorary Recorder of Worcester in 2007 . He was appointed a judicial member of the Sentencing Council and trained for the Judicial College , where he was responsible for the development of courses and as the judge in immediate charge of continuation training for the criminal judiciary . In 2011 , he was promoted to Senior Circuit Judge and took up his post as Resident Judge at Southwark Crown Court in September 2011 , where he presided over many high profile trials ( including that of Gary Glitter ). He became Honorary Recorder of Westminster in 2012 . In that year , he was also authorised to sit as a Circuit Judge in the Court of Appeal ( Criminal Division ). In 2018 he was appointed as a judicial member of the Parole Board .
He made a tremendous contribution to the Inn as an Advocacy Trainer , and frequently gave his time and considerable expertise to support the Inn ’ s training of students , pupils and new advocacy trainers . He regularly proposed students for Call to the Bar , and attended events to enhance the Inn ’ s connections with universities and legal academics .
Born in Ayr in Scotland and raised in the town of Troon , he is survived by his wife Julia , daughter Isobel , son James , and two grandchildren , Alexander , five , and Thomas , two .