Gordon Samuels - Early Life and Background

Early Life and Background

Samuels was born on 12 August 1923 in London, England, to a family of Jewish origin. His Grandfather, Jacob Samuels, left Lithuania for Edinburgh. He travelled to Australia and married Mary Michaelson, who he had met in Edinburgh. They ran a general store in Walcha, New South Wales, where Samuels' father, Harry, was born. Harry ran a cinema in Moree before going to war in France with his brother, Lou, who won the Military Cross. Harry married Zelda Glass after the war and they settled in Cricklewood, London, where Samuels was born.

Samuels was educated at University College School and Balliol College, Oxford. At Oxford he was awarded the degree of a Master of Arts. When the Second World War broke out, he joined the British Army in 1942, serving in the Royal Artillery in the 96th Field Regiment (Royal Devon Yeomanry), achieving his commission as Captain. Serving in Northern Ireland, India and Malaya, Samuels was demobilised in 1946.

Entering the legal profession, Samuels was called to the bar at Inner Temple in 1948. The following year he emigrated to Australia and worked as a clerk for Dawson Waldron Edwards and Nicholls. Called to the New South Wales bar in 1952, Samuels gained a reputation as being a "persuasive advocate and destructive cross-examiner". He married Jacqueline Kott in 1957 and had two daughters. Between 1964 and 1970, he was the Challis Lecturer of Law in Pleading at the University of Sydney. In 1964, he was appointed Queen’s Counsel for New South Wales and later for Victoria in 1965. In 1971, Samuels was elected as the President of the New South Wales Bar Association, in which capacity he served until 1972.