Background
Havers was born in Norwich, where his father was a solicitor.
Havers was born in Norwich, where his father was a solicitor.
He was educated at Norwich Grammar School and then at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, graduating with a first-class degree in classics in 1912 and an Bachelor of Laws in 1913.
He played tennis for the University of Cambridge, and played in the men"s doubles in the 1926 Wimbledon Championships with Basil Lawrence, winning a first-round match in five sets and then losing in the second round. He served in the British Army in the First World War. He was commissioned as a temporary second lieutenant in 5th Battalion of the Hampshire Regiment (Territorial Force) in January 1915, was promoted to temporary Lieutenant in June 1915 and temporary Captain in February 1916.
He was transferred to serve as Acting Captain with the Tank Corps in April 1918, and then temporary Captain in February 1919.
He was mentioned in dispatches in December 1918 while serving with the Tank Corps. Having reached the age limit for military service, he retired on 12 November 1939 with the rank of Captain.
Havers was called to the Bar at Inner Temple in 1920, coming top of the bar examinations, and "took silk" to become a King"s Counsel in 1939. He served as recorder of Chichester from 1939 to 1951.
He also served as a judge in the Gold Coast in 1944-1945, and as a Commissioner of Assize in the midlands in 1949.
He became a bencher at Inner Temple in 1946, and served as Treasurer in 1971. He was elected as an honorary fellow of Corpus Christi in 1975. He was appointed as a High Court Judge in 1951, in the Probate, Divorce and Admiralty Division, and received the customary knighthood.
He was transferred to the King"s Bench Division in 1952.
Havers was the trial judge who presided over the conviction of Ruth Ellis for murder in 1955. Ellis was the last woman to be sentenced to death and executed in the United Kingdom.
He subsequently sent money annually for the upkeep of Ellis"s son. He retired as a full-time judge in 1967, and became Deputy Dean of the Arches in 1970.
Havers married Enid Snelling in 1916.