A former Judge of Appeal for the Isle of Man has sadly died.

Geoffrey Tattersall KC, who was Judge of Appeal on the island for 20 years passed away on the evening of January 5. He was the longest serving Judge of Appeal since the role was created in 1919.

Tributes have been paid to Mr Tattersall by Northern Circuit leader Jaime Hamilton.

He said: ‘Geoffrey was a man of many roles. In the legal world he was called in 1970, took Silk in 1992 and was the Judge of Appeal for the Isle of Man from 1997 to 2017.

‘He was also a Deputy High Court Judge and Bencher of Lincoln’s Inn. He was a member of Byrom Street from 1992 until his retirement in 2018.

‘That, however, was not the end of his achievements and commitment. He was a member of the General Synod of the Church of England since 1995 and combined the ecclesiastical and legal in his roles as Diocesan Chancellor in both Carlisle and Manchester and as a Chair of the Clergy Disciplinary Tribunal.

‘I know that his wise counsel has assisted many fellow barristers, clients, members of chambers and many members of a variety of congregations.

‘Our condolences to his many, many friends here on Circuit, in the Isle of Man and the Church. And of course to his family - his wife Hazel and children Mark, Victoria and Hannah.’

When Mr Tattersall retired as Judge of Appeal in 2017, the then First Deemster David Doyle paid tribute.

He said: ‘Geoffrey has made an outstanding contribution to the development of Manx law and jurisprudence at appellate level over all those years.

‘In addition to his ability to deal with a very wide range of appeals, what Geoffrey possessed was an overriding sense of fairness and a desire to treat all those who came before the appeal court with great courtesy and patience.

‘Geoffrey has been a good friend to the island for many years and has, in his own remarkable way, made an impressive contribution to this wonderful island and we should acknowledge that and thank him for it.’