[2] Southwell served with the Royal Australian Naval Reserve in New Guinea and Morotai in the later part of World War II.
[2] Southwell was part of the full bench that quashed a conviction of Michael Glennon for charges of paedophilia while he was a Catholic priest.
Southwell was the dissenting judge who held that the decision could lead to a situation where adverse media publicity could prevent someone from ever facing trial.
[2] Following his retirement, he remained a reserve judge of the Supreme Court of Victoria and a member of the Legal Profession Tribunal which considers disciplinary cases against lawyers until 2001.
[2] In 2002, Southwell was appointed by the Roman Catholic Church to investigate accusations of sexual abuse against Archbishop George Pell.