Sir Austin Ward QC, the former Chief Justice of Bermuda, has died in his native Barbados, aged 85.

A quiet man gifted with a sharp wit for any lawyer who was less than thoroughly prepared, Lisle Austin Ward came to Bermuda in 1969.

He served in private practice for leading lawyer Arnold Francis until 1972 when he became a magistrate. Stints as Registrar of the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal followed.

From there, Sir Austin served as Registrar of Companies for one year and then moved on to become Solicitor General from 1980 to 1985, when he was appointed a Puisne Judge. He was made Queen’s Counsel in 1983.

In 1993 he replaced his friend, Sir James R. Astwood as Chief Justice, serving in the post until 2004.

In retirement, Sir Austin split his time between Bermuda, where he had status and Barbados, serving as the chairman of the commission into the deadly Glendiary Prison fire during a riot in 2005. He was a member of the Bermuda Court of Appeal from 2004 until 2013.

A graduate of the prestigious Harrison College and The Middle Temple, London, he was the son of Sir Erskine Ward, the former Speaker of the failed experiment at union in the Anglophone Caribbean, the West Indies Federal Parliament, and Rosa Bowen.

Of his own knighthood, Sir Austin said at the time: “It is an honour. I feel I did my duty. It doesn’t change things for me. It was not a complete surprise as the chief justices who have served any length of time for the past hundred years have been bestowed the KBE.”

Of his friendship with the pioneering Sir James, who had returned to Bermuda in 1974 and gone on to become the island’s first Black Chief Justice, he said: “We were trailblazers because never before did they have two of us looking alike, working in those capacities.”

Kathy Simmons, the Attorney-General and Minister of Legal Affairs and Constitutional Reform, said of Sir Austin: “Accolades of his contributions and stature were resolute and unmatched upon his retirement.”

She added: “Colleagues at the Attorney-General’s Chambers, both past and present, remember Sir Austin Ward as a distinguished jurist, and a dedicated public servant. He adopted Bermuda as his home in a quiet and reserved manner, always observing the letter of the law.”

She offered condolences to his family, adding: "He has left a legacy of fairness, integrity and had contributed invaluably to Bermuda’s jurisprudence.“

Narinder Hargun, the Chief Justice, paid tribute to “a gentle and thoughtful man” who was “well liked and admired by the Bermuda legal community”.

Mr Hargun said he would be remembered for “his kindness and quiet manner to all those who appeared before him in court”.

He added: “He will also be remembered for his passion as a poet. My thoughts and prayers are with his family in Bermuda and Barbados.”

Archibald Warner, a former Senior Magistrate and Barbadian-born, paid tribute to “a true Barbadian jurist” and “giant of a man” who taught him in the early 1960s at Boys Foundation School, in Christ Church, Barbados.

Mr Warner said they next met when Sir Austin came to Bermuda to work with Mr Francis.

Sir Austin “quietly assisted” fellow Barbadians and West Indians when “the weight of the Bermuda system was unfairly against them”.

Mr Warner said he was “keenly aware” of the many racial, social and employment barriers West Indians faced.

“He quietly but actively sought to put things right.”

Mr Warner said because of this, Sir Austin “was never fully appreciated by the Bermudian power structure”.

Mr Warner called him a cautious and politically astute man who understood the nuances of living in a colonial country.

Carl Neblett, the head of the Barbadian Association in Bermuda, said: “It’s sad; it hit us all this morning when we received the news.”

The group plans to contribute a wreath to recognise Air Austin’s work, he said.

“He was a stalwart in our legal system, and Chief Justice for a very long time.

“He was also an avid patron of the Barbadian Association.”

Mr Neblett said the Wards were “well known in the Parish of St Lucy” in Barbados.

At the time of his appointment as Chief Justice, Sir Austin’s peers at the Bar were fulsome in their praise.

Former Attorney General Saul Froomkin said: “I’m very pleased that they did not go outside of Bermuda to find someone. They have someone who has paid his dues in Bermuda.”

Sir Austin died with his wife Francisca at his side at home in Springvale, St Andrew, Barbados. He had two daughters and several grandchildren.

Sir Lisle Austin Ward, a former Chief Justice of Bermuda, was born on November 14, 1935. He died on February 22, 2021. Sir Austin was 85.