Henry Mosley Dyne 17 October 1932 to 1 May 2003

Henry Mosley Dyne or Harry, as he was affectionately known to his friends, was born on 17 October 1932 in Singapore. He was the only son of the late Henry Richard Lubbock Dyne (former senior partner of Donaldson & Burkinshaw) and Katherine Isobel of No 10 Chatsworth Park, Singapore. Harry had his early education at St Joseph’s Institution in Singapore and at the Oratory Preparatory School and later at the Oratory School in Reading. At school, Harry excelled in sports. He was Captain of both the School Rugby and Cricket teams. He was also a school prefect and Senior Under Officer in the Combined Cadets Force. After completing his secondary education, Harry read law at Lincolns Inn and was called to the English Bar in 1957. In October 1957 Harry married Sonia Heath (whom he had met whilst she was an undergraduate at Oxford) at the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd in Singapore. Harry joined Donaldson & Burkinshaw on his admission to the Singapore Bar on 24 January 1958. He became a partner of the firm on 1 January 1963.

Harry had an illustrious career at the Bar. Like his father, he specialised in Conveyancing and Chancery matters. Although he was one of the most illustrious and respected Chancery lawyers of his time, he was extremely modest of his abilities and achievements. He was consulted on very complicated conveyancing and chancery matters and wrote numerous Opinions for lawyers and trustees alike. In some cases he charged little or no fees. As a Chancery lawyer, Harry appeared in several leading cases over the years. He acted as solicitor for the trustees in the numerous disputes involving the Valibhoy trust. In 1976 he appeared for the trustees of the Valibhoy trust in the Court of Appeal in the Valibhoy Charitable Trust [1976] 1 MLJ 207. He also appeared as counsel for the trustees in Farrer Tan’s Case [1988] 1 MLJ 485, as counsel for the Hong Kong Bank Trustees in Re Ho Sok Choo Neo (OS 319 of 1990) and as counsel representing a particular interest in Re Tan Lip Buoy [1996] 2 SLR 663. More recently he appeared as senior counsel in The Dickinson Holdings Case [1997] 2 SLR 257. Few at the Bar are aware that it was Harry who exposed the ‘deplorable activities’ of a group called the Alhadads who had ‘lulled’ the Court into making various orders to the detriment of the lawful beneficiaries of the estate of an Arab testator. As a result of The Dickson Holdings Case, several other transactions which had been orchestrated by the Alhadads, were set aside by the Courts.

Apart from active practice, Harry served as a Member of the Council of the Law Society (1980 to 1982), Chairman of the Conveyancing Non-Contentious Costs Committee (1983 to 1986), Member of the Board of Commissisoners for Oaths and Notaries Public (1996 to 1998), and as Convenor for Golf for the Bench and Bar Games for years without number. Harry was a keen and talented golfer and served in various capacities on the Committee of the Singapore Island Country Club from 1966 to 1988 — first as Captain (1969 to 1970) then as Vice President (1970 to 1973) and finally as President (1985 to 1988).

Harry retired as senior partner of Donaldson & Burkinshaw in 1996. He carried on as a Consultant in Donaldson & Burkinshaw for a further two years before retiring eventually in 1998.

Harry was a unique individual. He was a man of great dignity and bearing. He was also generous to a fault. His honesty, frankness and strength of character (both when dealing with fellow members of the Bar and the courts) endeared him to many. He was respected by all who came in contact with him although they may not necessarily have agreed with all his views. He was in every sense a true gentleman and a great sportsman.

Harry was a family man. Although he never demonstrated his inner feelings for his family openly, he loved and adored his wife Sonia and each of his five children, Katherine, John, Sarah, Harry and Eira and grandchildren. Whilst we mourn with them, we hope that they find some solace in the words of the Gita:

Certain is death for the born
And certain is birth for the dead
Therefore over the inevitable
Thou shouldst not grieve.

T P B Menon
Wee Swee Teow & Co