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Alan Reay

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Sir Alan Reay
Birth nameHubert Alan John Reay
Born(1925-03-19)19 March 1925
Hednesford, Staffordshire, England
Died4 February 2012(2012-02-04) (aged 86)
Buried
East Sheen Cemetery
Allegiance United Kingdom
Service / branch British Army
Years of service1949–1985
RankLieutenant General
Service number406929[1]
Unit Royal Army Medical Corps

Lieutenant General Sir Hubert Alan John Reay, KBE, CStJ, FRCP, (19 March 1925 – 4 February 2012) was a senior British Army officer. He served as Director General Army Medical Services between 1981 and 1984.

Early life

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Reay was born on 19 March 1925 in Hednesford, Staffordshire. His father, a chaplain, had been awarded the Military Cross during World War I.[2] He was educated at Lancing College, then an all-boys public school in the village of Lancing, West Sussex.[3] He studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh, graduating in 1948 with Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MB ChB) degrees.[4]

Military career

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On 23 October 1949, as part of national service, Reay was commissioned into the Royal Army Medical Corps with the rank of lieutenant. He was promoted to captain on 23 October 1950.[5][6] On 23 November 1949, he transferred from the National Service List to the regular army on a short service commission.[7] His first posting was as a Regimental Medical Officer attached to 1st Battalion, The Devonshire Regiment in the Federation of Malaya[2] during the Malayan Emergency.[8] By April 1952, he was a temporary major.[9] He transferred to a regular commission on 26 November 1952 in the rank of captain.[10] He was promoted to substantive major on 23 October 1957.[11] He was promoted to lieutenant colonel on 23 October 1962.[12]

He was promoted to colonel on 23 October 1972.[13] He was promoted to brigadier on 14 July 1976.[14] On 4 July 1977, he was appointed Commandant and Postgraduate Dean of the Royal Army Medical College and was granted the local rank of major general.[15] He was promoted to substantive major general on 1 August 1977.[16] In 1979, he was appointed Director of Medical Services BAOR.[17] He was promoted to lieutenant general on 7 April 1981 with seniority from 7 November 1980.[18] He served as Director General Army Medical Services from 1981 to 1984.[17]

He retired from the British Army on 25 February 1985.[19]

Later life

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Reay served as chairman of Lambeth health care NHS trust between 1992 and 1997.[2]

He died on 4 February 2012, aged 86.[3] His funeral was held at St Mary's Church, Barnes, London on 24 February. He was buried at East Sheen Cemetery.[20]

Personal life

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In 1960, Reay married Ferelith Deane. Together they had three sons and two daughters. One of their sons predeceased him.[2] Lady Reay died on 16 December 2016.[21]

Honours and decorations

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On 4 April 1952, it was gazetted that Reay had been Mentioned in Despatches "in recognition of gallant and distinguished services in Malaya, during the period 1st July to 31st December, 1951".[9]

He was appointed Officer of the Venerable Order of Saint John (OStJ) in December 1980,[22] and promoted to Commander of the Venerable Order of Saint John (CStJ) in May 1981.[23] In the 1981 Queen's Birthday Honours, he was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE).[24]

Having been appointed Honorary Physician to the Queen (QHP) on 3 January 1976,[25] he was succeeded in the appointment on 25 February 1985.[26] On 5 May 1986, he was appointed Honorary Colonel of the 217 (London) General Hospital Royal Army Medical Corps (Volunteers), a Territorial Army unit.[27] His tenure expired on 19 March 1990.[28]

References

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  1. ^ "No. 38768". The London Gazette (Supplement). 25 November 1949. p. 5596.
  2. ^ a b c d "Lieutenant-General Sir Alan Reay". The Telegraph. 6 March 2012. Retrieved 8 November 2012.
  3. ^ a b "Lieutenant General Sir Alan Reay: Soldier who fought cutbacks". The Guardian. 9 March 2012. Retrieved 8 November 2012.
  4. ^ "BIOGRAPHICAL SUMMARY: DIRECTOR GENERAL ARMY MEDICAL SERVICES" (PDF). Journal of the Royal Army Medical Corps (127): 4–5. 1981. Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 July 2012. Retrieved 8 November 2012.
  5. ^ "No. 39054". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 October 1950. p. 5418.
  6. ^ "No. 39080". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 December 1950. p. 5998.
  7. ^ "No. 38784". The London Gazette (Supplement). 16 December 1949. p. 5950.
  8. ^ "Lieutenant General Sir Alan Reay KBE FRCP Edin". Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. Archived from the original on 23 December 2012. Retrieved 8 November 2012.
  9. ^ a b "No. 39507". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 April 1952. pp. 1880–1881.
  10. ^ "No. 39723". The London Gazette (Supplement). 19 December 1952. p. 6718.
  11. ^ "No. 41209". The London Gazette (Supplement). 22 October 1957. p. 6181.
  12. ^ "No. 42813". The London Gazette (Supplement). 19 October 1962. p. 8268.
  13. ^ "No. 12511". The London Gazette (Supplement). 24 October 1972. p. 45809.
  14. ^ "No. 47067". The London Gazette (Supplement). 15 November 1976. p. 15405.
  15. ^ "No. 47270". The London Gazette (Supplement). 11 July 1977. p. 9043.
  16. ^ "No. 47289". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 August 1977. p. 9973.
  17. ^ a b "Lieutenant General Sir Alan Reay: Soldier who fought cutbacks". The Independent. 9 March 2012. Retrieved 17 March 2014.
  18. ^ "No. 48606". The London Gazette (Supplement). 11 May 1981. p. 6631.
  19. ^ "No. 50059". The London Gazette (Supplement). 11 March 1985. p. 3467.
  20. ^ "REAY". Telegraph Announcements. The Telegraph. February 2012. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 17 November 2012.
  21. ^ "Reay". Telegraph Announcements. The Daily Telegraph. 21 December 2016. Archived from the original on 22 December 2016. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  22. ^ "No. 48456". The London Gazette. 18 December 1980. pp. 17522–17527.
  23. ^ "No. 48605". The London Gazette. 11 May 1981. p. 6579.
  24. ^ "No. 48639". The London Gazette (Supplement). 12 June 1981. p. 5.
  25. ^ "No. 46807". The London Gazette (Supplement). 26 January 1976. p. 1289.
  26. ^ "No. 50066". The London Gazette (Supplement). 18 March 1985. p. 3885.
  27. ^ "No. 50515". The London Gazette (Supplement). 12 May 1986. p. 6486.
  28. ^ "No. 52254". The London Gazette (Supplement). 24 August 1990. p. 13854.
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