Lord Gardiner was born 30 May 1900, the son of Sir Robert Gardiner. In 1925 he married Lesly Trounson (died 1966) they had one daughter. In 1970 he married Mrs Muriel Box. Lord Gardiner died 7 January 1990. Lord Gardiner joined the Coldstream Guards in 1918. He was called to the Bar in 1925 and was made King's Counsel in 1948. He served in the Friends Ambulance Unit, 1943-45. Lord Gardiner played an active role in various reform movements and held numerous professional positions. He was a member of the Committee on Supreme Court Practice and Procedure, 1947-53, and a member of the Lord Chancellor’s Law Reform Committee, 1952-63. He was a Master of the Bench of the Inner Temple in 1955, Chairman of the General Council of the Bar in 1958 and 1959. He was a member of the International Commission of Jurists in 1971– He was Joint Chairman of the National Campaign for Abolition of Capital Punishment. He was an Alderman of London County Council, 1961-63. Lord Gardiner was created a life peer in 1963 and was Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, 1964-70. His publications included "Capital Punishment as a Deterrent" (pub. 1956; joint editor) and "Law Reform Now" (pub. 1963).