Jeremy Bray
Jeremy Bray | |
---|---|
Member of Parliament for Jocelyn Simon | |
Succeeded by | John Sutcliffe |
Personal details | |
Born | Jeremy William Bray 29 June 1930 British Hong Kong |
Died | 31 May 2002 Linton, Cambridgeshire, England | (aged 71)
Nationality | British |
Political party | Labour |
Spouse |
Elizabeth Trowell (m. 1953) |
Education | Eastnor Village School Aberystwyth Grammar School Kingswood School |
Alma mater | Jesus College, Cambridge Harvard University |
Jeremy William Bray (29 June 1930 – 31 May 2002) was a British Labour politician and a Member of Parliament for 31 years.
Early life and education
Bray was born in British Hong Kong, the son of Reverend Arthur Bray, a Methodist missionary. He spent his formative years in Foshan, until he and his family were evacuated by gunboat prior to the arrival of the Japanese army in 1941.[1] Returning to Britain, he attended Eastnor Village School, Aberystwyth Grammar School, Kingswood School, Bath (1942–48) and Jesus College, Cambridge, where he graduated as a Wrangler in 1953. Staying on at Cambridge to conduct doctoral research in pure mathematics under the supervision of J. E. Littlewood, he spent a year abroad as a Choate Fellow at Harvard University in 1955–56.[1]
Career
Bray's first job upon leaving Cambridge was as a technical officer at the
Political career
Bray unsuccessfully contested
Following a four-year hiatus, Bray was then returned as MP for Motherwell and Wishaw from October 1974 to 1983, and for Motherwell South from 1983 until his retirement in 1997. Chosen by the Motherwell Labour Party as their candidate because of his steel industry expertise, during this second spell in parliament Bray was noted for his unflagging efforts to save the Ravenscraig steelworks from closure. He was the Opposition Spokesman on Science and Technology from 1983 to 1992.[2]
Personal life
Bray married his wife Elizabeth in 1953 and had four daughters. A Methodist lay preacher, he was deputy chairman of Christian Aid from 1972 to 1984.[1] His elder brother, Denis Bray, was a senior civil servant in colonial-era Hong Kong.
Bray underwent major heart surgery in 1991, and afterwards was in increasingly poor health.[1] He died of heart failure at his home in Linton, Cambridgeshire, on 31 May 2002.[1][3] His autobiography, Standing on the Shoulders of Giants, was published posthumously by his wife in 2004.[4]
Notes
- ^ a b c d e f g Tam Dalyell, "Bray, Jeremy William (1930–2002)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2009; online edition, January 2006. Retrieved 29 November 2022. (subscription required)
- ^ Who's Who & Who Was Who. Vol. 2022 (online ed.). A & C Black. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- ^ "Dr Jeremy Bray MP who was committed to fight to keep Ravenscraig plant open". The Herald. 5 June 2002. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
- ^ Jeremy Bray, Standing on the Shoulders of Giants (Cambridge: Elizabeth Bray, 2004).
References
- Times Guide to the House of Commons, Times Newspapers Limited, 1966, 1992 and 1997 editions
- Obituary of Jeremy Bray, The Guardian
External links
- Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Jeremy Bray
- The Papers of Jeremy Bray held at Churchill Archives Centre, Cambridge