Robin Vincent (Cr 52-62) CBE CMG

Robin wrote this article for the FDO for Connect in 2006:
In February of this year it was my 62^nd birthday and, standing in a short queue of heavily armed US servicemen behind a barricade waiting for the signal to sprint to a waiting Blackhawk helicopter at a US military base in Baghdad, I could not help but reflect on the events of the intervening 54 years between that event and my first day at King's junior school, St Alban's.

Then, as an eight year old dayboy from Tolladine in Worcester I had sat down apprehensively in a small, neat classroom to be taught over the next two years by a somewhat fearsome (at least to me) teaching staff including the Campbell sisters.  Those days came flooding back to me again in September when, as part of the OV reunion weekend, I revisited St Alban's.  Apart from some additions, it remains very much as I remembered it, compact and tidy, with the small chapel still a feature.

The purpose of that journey to Baghdad was to observe and advise upon the first trial involving Saddam Hussein which at the time of writing this had resulted in his conviction and a sentence of death.

A far cry from my days in St. Alban's and then progressing through to the senior stages as a dayboy in Creighton House until my departure in 1962.   With a set of comparatively undistinguished 'O' and 'A' levels, I had no real career in mind, or in prospect.  My school reports from those days reveal that, apart from one or two subjects, I struggled to make headway, frustrating many of the teaching staff amongst whom were Dan McTurk, Michael Points, 'Didge' Aldridge, 'Poop' Vaudrey, Joey Curle, Donald Anderton and my housemaster, …… Barnett. 

I did however fare better on the sporting front by representing the School's 1^st XI and 1^st VI at Hockey and Tennis respectively. 

Outside of school a promising career in soccer had at one stage beckoned but it came to nothing.  For this and other reasons the possibility of a place at the University of North Staffordshire (Keele) which had been facilitated by the efforts of Sara Knight, one of my A level tutors, had not been pursued and, instead, I took a junior post with the Worcestershire County Council.  Part of my duties were to assist in the Clerk of the Peace Department which brought me into contact with the criminal justice system in those days in the form of Assizes and Quarter Sessions, the forerunner to the Crown Court.

Whilst I had maintained my links with the School by playing cricket for the OVs, my work in the courts also maintained a connection as my first boss was W R Scurfield, the hugely respected Clerk of Worcestershire County Council, Clerk of the Peace and the father of Hugh Scurfield, former Head of School and now Chairman of the Development Trust.  I also had contact with another redoubtable OV, Alec Mackie, then with a bourgeoning career as a journalist and a court reporter.  I held a variety of posts within the Court Service for England and Wales including an eight year period in London as Head of Personnel and Head of Judicial Appointments.  In 1993 I was appointed Regional Director for the North West of England based in Manchester when I was responsible for the administration of a number of high profile trials including that of Harold Shipman, the murder of the Liverpool toddler, Jamie Bulger, and terrorist trials.

In 2000, towards the end of my time in the Court Service, I was asked by the United Nations to report on the efficiency of the War Crimes Tribunal for Rwanda and, subsequently, asked to work in Russia to train Russian Court Administrators.  Those events were in some respects to change my life.

Two years later I was invited to become the Registrar of the Special Court for Sierra Leone, a war crimes court in West Africa, and appointed by Kofi Annan as one of his Assistant Secretary Generals.  A three year stint followed in Freetown, Sierra Leone creating the Court literally from scratch and providing the opportunity to address both the UN Security Council and present to the European Parliament.

Having completed my contract with the UN, I became a senior consultant in international criminal and transitional justice issues which has taken me around the world, not only to Baghdad but also to Phnom Penh to advise on the Khmer Rouge trials and many other destinations.  I am currently on an assignment for the UN in The Hague working with the International Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia.

Throughout these times I have frequently been indebted to King's for the invaluable background given to me in terms of responsibility and discipline (albeit that numerous mentions in the Penal Drill book of the time tends to suggest that I learned the hard way!).

I hope that it also underlines that, whatever academic achievements may or may not be attained, sight should not be lost of the all round benefits which King's has consistently provided throughout its existence.  In remembering my late parents' sacrifice in sending me to King's and my wife's and family's unfailing support, I also want to thank King's for the start they gave me.