Archibald Bodkin

Sir Archibald Henry Bodkin KCB (1 April 1862[1] – 31 December 1957) was an English lawyer and the Director of Public Prosecutions from 1920 to 1930.

[5] Bodkin soon established a reputation as a hard and meticulous worker, and was particularly noted for his preparation of indictments—prior to the Indictments Act 1915 this was a highly specialised field.

He disdained the theatrical devices popular amongst other barristers of the day; his style was built on a solid appreciation of the facts of the case.

On 1 July 1901 he was also appointed Recorder (a part-time judge) of the Borough of Dover (succeeding his uncle, Sir Harry Bodkin Poland).

[5][6] During the First World War he undertook many prosecutions of spies, in particular that of Carl Hans Lody, and was also heavily involved in building the case against Roger Casement.

The wartime period also included his leading role in prosecuting the "Brides in the bath" case, which saw him calling 112 witnesses for the Crown.

In the 1920s he tried to ban Ulysses by James Joyce and even threatened in 1922 to prosecute the academic F. R. Leavis if he mentioned it in his lectures at Cambridge University since it contained "a great deal of unmitigated filth and obscenity".

He always took work home at the weekend, and it is a persistent rumour that he was once seen leaving chambers on Christmas evening, carrying a set of legal papers.

The affair began with the acquittal in the magistrates' court of Sir Leo Chiozza Money and Irene Savidge on charges of indecent behaviour.

[15] Bodkin was then re-appointed Recorder of Dover on 9 February 1931,[16] and continued to carry out the role until 1947, when he finally resigned at the age of 85.