Ligertwood was born on 15 October 1888, a son of William Leith Ligertwood of Maylands, a suburb of Adelaide, South Australia. He was educated at Norwood Public school, followed by the Grote Street Pupil Teachers' School, where he won an exhibition for three years at the University of Adelaide. He graduated BA in 1908 and LLB in 1910, winning the Stow prize in three consecutive years, thus securing a Stow Scholarship, and David Murray Scholarship in Private International Law, serving his articles with his uncle J. R. Anderson, KC.
Career
Public service
Ligertwood was admitted to the Bar on 15 December 1910, and the following year was appointed by Chief JusticeSir Samuel Way as his associate, succeeding Mjr. W. L. Stuart, who had accepted the position of solicitor to the Land Titles Office. In February 1914 Way was appointed Lieut. Governor for the duration of Sir Day Bosanquet's absence from the State, and chose Ligertwood to be his private secretary. Ligertwood was on 1 September 1915 appointed acting master of the Supreme Court during the absence of Mjr. Stuart on military duties. At the end of the year he left the public service for private practice.
Ligertwood served on the bench of the Supreme Court from 12 July 1945 until his retirement in 1958. The Federal government appointed him to three royal commissions. In 1945, he was appointed Royal Commissioner by Prime MinisterBen Chifley to look into the conduct of Lieutenant General Gordon Bennett; in 1949, he took part in a commission into timber-leases in New Guinea; finally, in 1954-55 he was one of three commissioners who examined espionage in Australia.
Other roles
From 1930-67, Ligertwood served as a governor of Scotch College, Adelaide. He held the following roles at the University of Adelaide:
Ligertwood married Edith Emily Naismith at the Methodist Church, Upper Sturt on 6 April 1915. They had four children:
William Leith Ligertwood
Helen Ligertwood
Neil Coutts Ligertwood
Marion Jean Ligertwood
He became a member of the Adelaide Club in 1929, and was a prominent Freemason. Ligertwood died on 13 October 1967, in Adelaide.
Honours
Ligertwood was knighted in 1956. In 1959, he was appointed royal commissioner by the Western Australian government to inquire into betting. He chaired the Federal committee on taxation, and the South Australian committee on assessment for land tax. He received an honorary LL.D. from the University of Western Australia in 1963, and another from the University of Adelaide in 1964.