Leonard Woodley

Leonard Gaston Woodley QC (13 September 1927 – 19 January 2020) was a British barrister. He became the first person in Britain of Afro-Caribbean heritage to become a Queen's Counsel, Recorder of the Crown Court and a bencher of Inner Temple.

Biography Woodley was born in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, the son of Leonard Woodley, a bandleader, and his wife, Ethel Owen Fleming, a businesswoman. He was involved in many of the famous race trials of the 20th century, including those related to the Mangrove Nine trial, 1981 Brixton riot, 1980 St Pauls riot, Broadwater Farm riot.

Woodley lived in Hampstead, London, and died on 19 January 2020. He was predeceased in 1990s by his much loved only child and son who died in a tragic accident on London Underground.