# Ernest Gray

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> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernest_Gray
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{{short description|British politician}}
{{for-multi|the New Zealand politician|Ernest Gray (New Zealand politician)|the American politician|Ernest Alfonso Gray}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2021}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific_prefix          = Sir
| name                      = Ernest Gray
| honorific_suffix          =
| image                     = Ernest Gray.jpg
| alt                       = 
| caption                   = Gray in 1895
| constituency_MP           = [West Ham North](/source/West_Ham_North_(UK_Parliament_constituency))
| parliament                = 
| majority                  = 
| term_start                = 1895
| term_end                  = 1906
| predecessor               = [Archibald Grove](/source/Archibald_Grove)
| successor                 = [Charles Masterman](/source/Charles_Masterman)
| constituency_MP1          = [Accrington](/source/Accrington_(UK_Parliament_constituency))
| parliament1               = 
| majority1                 = 
| term_start1               = 1918
| term_end1                 = 1922
| predecessor1              = [Harold Baker](/source/Harold_Baker_(Liberal_politician))
| successor1                = [Charles Buxton](/source/Charles_Buxton_(Labour_politician))
| office2                   = Member of London County Council <br/>for [Shoreditch (Haggerston)](/source/Haggerston_(UK_Parliament_constituency))
| term_start2               = 2 March 1907
| term_end2                 = 1910
| predecessor2              = ''Constituency established''
| successor2                = Benjamin B Evans<br/>[Joseph Stanley Holmes](/source/Stanley_Holmes%2C_1st_Baron_Dovercourt)
| alongside2                = Dr John Davies
| office3                   = Member of London County Council <br/>for [Lambeth (Brixton)](/source/Brixton_(UK_Parliament_constituency))
| term_start3               = 5 March 1910
| term_end3                 = 1925
| predecessor3              = William Haydon<br/>[Samuel John Gurney Hoare](/source/Samuel_Hoare%2C_1st_Viscount_Templewood)
| successor3                = [Gervas Pierrepont](/source/Gervas_Pierrepont%2C_6th_Earl_Manvers)<br/>[Nigel Colman](/source/Nigel_Colman_(politician))
| alongside3                = William Haydon (1910-1919)<br/>Charles Henry Gibbs (1919-1922)<br/>[Gervas Pierrepont](/source/Gervas_Pierrepont%2C_6th_Earl_Manvers) (1922-1925)
| office4                   = [Vice chairman of the London County Council](/source/List_of_chairmen_of_the_London_County_Council)
| term_start4               = 1915
| term_end4                 = 1916
| predecessor4              = Alfred Ordway Goodrich
| successor4                = William James Squires
| prior_term                = 
| pronunciation             = 
| birth_name                = Ernest Gray
| birth_date                = {{birth date|1856|8|27|df=y}}
| birth_place               = 
| death_date                = {{Death date and age|1932|5|6|1856|8|27|df=y}}
| death_place               = [Hampstead](/source/Hampstead), London
| death_cause               = 
| resting_place             = 
| resting_place_coordinates = 
| citizenship               = 
| party                     = [Conservative](/source/Conservative_Party_(UK))
| other_party               = <!--For additional political affiliations-->
| height                    = <!-- "X cm", "X m"  or "X ft Y in" plus optional reference (conversions are automatic) -->
| spouse                    = Florence Caroline Garside
| partner                   = <!--For those with a domestic partner and not married-->
| relations                 = 
| children                  = 
| parents                   = <!-- overrides mother and father parameters -->
| mother                    = 
| father                    = William Gray
| relatives                 = 
| education                 = 
| alma_mater                = [St John's Training College](/source/University_College_Plymouth_St_Mark_%26_St_John)
| occupation                = 
| profession                = 
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| salary                    = 
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| awards                    = <!-- For civilian awards - appears as "Awards" if |mawards= is not set -->
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| signature                 = 
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| website                   = 
| nickname                  = <!--Military service-->
| allegiance                = {{flagicon|United Kingdom}} [United Kingdom](/source/United_Kingdom)
| branch                    = {{army|United Kingdom}}<br/>[Volunteer Force](/source/Volunteer_Force_(Great_Britain))<br/>[Territorial Force](/source/Territorial_Force)
| service_years             = 
| rank                      = [Major](/source/Major_(United_Kingdom))
| unit                      = [Essex Regiment](/source/Essex_Regiment)
| commands                  = 
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}}
'''Sir Ernest Gray''' (27 August 1856 – 6 May 1932) was a [British](/source/British_people) educational reformer and [Conservative](/source/Conservative_Party_(UK)) politician.<ref name=whowho>{{cite web |title=GRAY, Sir Ernest |work=Who Was Who |publisher=[Oxford University Press](/source/Oxford_University_Press) |year=2007 |url=http://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/article/oupww/whowaswho/U210355 |access-date=11 December 2010}}</ref><ref name=obit>{{cite news |title=Obituary: Sir Ernest Gray |newspaper=[The Times](/source/The_Times) |date=7 May 1932 |page=14}}</ref>

==Early life and educational work==
The son of William Gray, he attended primary school and [St John's Training College](/source/University_College_Plymouth_St_Mark_%26_St_John), [Battersea](/source/Battersea).<ref name=whowho/><ref name=obit/> On completion of his training, he worked as an elementary school teacher and science lecturer. He married Florence Caroline Garside in 1883.<ref name=whowho/><ref name=obit/><ref>{{cite book |title=Debrett's House of Commons and the Judicial Bench |year=1901 |publisher=Dean & Son |location=London |page=58 |url=https://archive.org/download/debrettshouseo1901londuoft/debrettshouseo1901londuoft_bw.pdf |access-date=12 May 2009 }}</ref> By 1894 he had become headmaster of St Gabriel's School, [Pimlico](/source/Pimlico). He was elected as president of the [National Union of Teachers](/source/National_Union_of_Teachers).<ref name=obit/> He received an [honorary degree](/source/honorary_degree) from the [University of Oxford](/source/University_of_Oxford) in the same year.<ref name=whowho/><ref name=obit/> He later spent many years as secretary to the education committee of the union, and was joint editor of several education handbooks. He served as a member of the Consultative Committee of the [Board of Education](/source/Board_of_Education_(United_Kingdom)) from 1900 to 1908.<ref name=whowho/><ref name=obit/> He was appointed an ''Officer de l’Instruction Publique'' by the French government for services to education.<ref name=whowho/><ref name=obit/> 
Gray held a commission in the [Volunteer Force](/source/Volunteer_Force_(Great_Britain)) and the successor [Territorial Force](/source/Territorial_Force) of the [British Army](/source/British_Army), rising to the rank of major in the 6th Battalion, [Essex Regiment](/source/Essex_Regiment).<ref name=whowho/><ref name=obit/>

==Politics==
Politically, Gray was a Conservative, and in [1895](/source/1895_United_Kingdom_general_election) he was chosen by the party to contest the constituency of [West Ham North](/source/West_Ham_North_(UK_Parliament_constituency)). Gray had the full support of the National Union of Teachers, and was able to unseat the [Liberal](/source/Liberal_Party_(UK)) [Member of Parliament](/source/Member_of_Parliament_(United_Kingdom)), magazine publisher [Archibald Grove](/source/Archibald_Grove).<ref name=whowho/><ref name=obit/> He retained the seat at the [1900 election](/source/1900_United_Kingdom_general_election), but was defeated in [1906](/source/1906_United_Kingdom_general_election).<ref name=whowho/><ref name=obit/> He made an unsuccessful attempt to regain the West Ham North seat in [January 1910](/source/January_1910_United_Kingdom_general_election).<ref name=whowho/> At the next [general election in December 1910](/source/December_1910_United_Kingdom_general_election) he contested the [Lancashire](/source/Lancashire) seat of [Accrington](/source/Accrington_(UK_Parliament_constituency)) but failed to be elected.<ref name=whowho/>

In the meantime, Gray had been elected to the [London County Council](/source/London_County_Council) as a member of the Conservative-backed [Municipal Reform Party](/source/Municipal_Reform_Party).<ref name=whowho/> In 1907 the Municipal Reformers gained control of the council, and Gray was elected to represent [Hoxton](/source/Hoxton_(London_County_Council_constituency)). At the next council elections in 1910 he became a councillor for [Brixton](/source/Brixton_(London_County_Council_constituency)), holding the seat until 1925.<ref name=whowho/> He was [vice chairman](/source/List_of_chairmen_of_the_London_County_Council) of the council in 1915–1916.<ref name=whowho/>

He returned to parliament at the [1918 general election](/source/1918_United_Kingdom_general_election), having received the "[coalition coupon](/source/coalition_coupon)", and was elected as Coalition Conservative member of parliament for [Accrington](/source/Accrington_(UK_Parliament_constituency)).<ref name=obit/> He was defeated at the next [general election in 1922](/source/1922_United_Kingdom_general_election), when the seat was gained by the [Labour Party](/source/Labour_Party_(UK)).<ref name=obit/><ref>{{cite news |title=The General Election. First Returns. Polls in the Boroughs. Heavy Voting |newspaper=[The Times](/source/The_Times) |date=16 November 1922 |page=6}}</ref>

==Later life==
Gray retired from the London County Council in 1925, and was [knighted](/source/knight_bachelor) for "political and public services" in the same year.<ref name=whowho/><ref>
{{London Gazette |issue=33053 |date=2 June 1925 |page=3768 |supp=y}}</ref> He died in [Hampstead](/source/Hampstead), aged 73, in May 1932 and was cremated at [Golders Green](/source/Golders_Green_Crematorium).<ref name=obit/>

==References==
{{reflist}}
* {{Rayment-hc|date=March 2012}}

==External links==
* {{Hansard-contribs | mr-ernest-gray | Ernest Gray }}

{{S-start}}
{{s-par|uk}}
{{s-bef | before = [Archibald Grove](/source/Archibald_Grove)}}
{{s-ttl
 | title = [Member of Parliament](/source/Member_of_Parliament_(United_Kingdom)) for [West Ham North](/source/West_Ham_North_(UK_Parliament_constituency))
 | years = [1895](/source/1895_United_Kingdom_general_election) – [1906](/source/1906_United_Kingdom_general_election)
}}
{{s-aft | after=[Charles Masterman](/source/Charles_Masterman)}}
{{s-bef | before = [Harold Baker](/source/Harold_Baker_(Liberal_politician))}}
{{s-ttl
 | title = [Member of Parliament](/source/Member_of_Parliament_(United_Kingdom)) for [Accrington](/source/Accrington_(UK_Parliament_constituency))
 | years = [1918](/source/1918_United_Kingdom_general_election) – [1922](/source/1922_United_Kingdom_general_election)
}}
{{s-aft | after=[Charles Buxton](/source/Charles_Buxton_(Labour_politician))}}
{{s-npo|union}}
{{succession box|title=President of the [National Union of Teachers](/source/National_Union_of_Teachers)|years=1894|before=Charles Bowden|after=T. B. Ellery}}
{{S-end}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gray, Ernest}}
Category:1856 births
Category:1932 deaths
Category:Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
Category:National Union of Teachers-sponsored MPs
Category:UK MPs 1895–1900
Category:UK MPs 1900–1906
Category:UK MPs 1918–1922
Category:Members of London County Council
Category:Knights Bachelor
Category:Municipal Reform Party politicians
Category:Essex Regiment officers
Category:Volunteer Force officers
Category:Heads of schools in London
Category:Trade unionists from London
Category:Presidents of the National Union of Teachers
Category:Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for constituencies in Lancashire
Category:19th-century British Army personnel
Category:20th-century British Army personnel
Category:Territorial Force officers

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Ernest Gray](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernest_Gray) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernest_Gray?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.