Helenus Milmo


Sir Helenus Patrick Joseph Milmo, DL was a British lawyer and High Court judge.

Early life and education

He was born in County Limerick, Ireland on 24 August 1908, the third son of Daniel and Kathleen Milmo, but spent his early years in Furbogh, Galway Gaeltacht. Milmo attended St. Gerard's School, Downside School and Trinity College, Cambridge; he was called to the Bar and was later appointed QC in 1961.

Career

During World War II, Milmo was a member of MI5. Having previously worked under Kim Philby, Milmo was selected to investigate Philby in 1951, when Philby's treason became increasingly obvious. Milmo failed to elicit definitive answers and concluded "that Philby is and has been for many years a Soviet agent. But the case remained unproven." Milmo's peers were not entirely forgiving. "Some felt", wrote Peter Carter-Ruck when Milmo died in 1988, "that he was perhaps too much of a gentleman for that daunting task."
Milmo was appointed to the High Court in 1964.

Personal life

Milmo married Joan Frances Morley, the second daughter of Francis Morley of Sloan Court, London, in 1933. The couple had five children:
Two grandchildren, Cahal and Daniel Milmo, are also journalists, while another, Chuka Umunna, has been a British Member of Parliament. A fourth grandchild, Marc, moved into Investment Banking and is a Director at finnCap.
Joan Milmo died in 1978, aged 71, from undisclosed causes. Helenus Milmo's second marriage, in 1980, was to Mrs Anne Brand the widow of Francis Bernard Brand. Mrs Brand was born Anne Gilmore O'Connell, the daughter of Maurice William O'Connell. Anne, Lady Milmo died at age 96.
Sir Helenus Milmo died in 1988 in Chichester, West Sussex, six days after his 80th birthday.