# William Raynes > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/William_Raynes > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/William_Raynes.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Raynes > Source revision: 1335388040 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|British politician}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2017}} {{Use British English|date=March 2017}} [[File:William Robert Raynes (1871–1966) by Ernest Townsend died 1944.jpg|thumb|William Robert Raynes by [Ernest Townsend](/source/Ernest_Townsend)]] '''William Robert Raynes''' (26 January 1871 – 30 January 1966) was a British politician. He was a socialist Member of Parliament, alderman and [Mayor of Derby](/source/Mayor_of_Derby). He helped plan a scheme for the River Derwent and there is a major road in Derby – Raynesway – that is named after him. ==Life== Raynes was born on 26 January 1871 at [Chasetown](/source/Chasetown), [Staffordshire](/source/Staffordshire), [England](/source/England). He was the son of [Derbyshire](/source/Derbyshire)-born Henry Eley Raynes and Phebe Raynes. The family moved many times during William's childhood and he was educated at nine different schools in nine different parts of the country. speech by Raynes reported in Derby Daily Telegraph, 8 February 1921 The family moved to [Osmaston](/source/Osmaston%2C_Derby), then outside the Borough of [Derby](/source/Derby) in 1883. William's first job, after leaving school at the age of 13, was with the local Co-operative Society. Later he became a painter and decorator, living at 13 Commerce Street in nearby Alvaston. Kelly's Directories for Derbyshire, 1912 and 1925 In October 1911 he was selected to be the [Labour party](/source/Labour_Party_(UK)) candidate for Osmaston Ward when a by-election was called following the untimely death of Councillor Edwin Goldsmith. Derby Daily Telegraph, 14 October 1921 As the winning candidate in the by-election, he became Derby's first Labour councillor. Derby Daily Telegraph, 26 October 1911 In May 1919, Raynes made a speech where he called for the withdrawal of [British troops from the Russian civil war](/source/Allied_intervention_in_the_Russian_Civil_War). Raynes' speech also praised the [Soviet Union](/source/Soviet_Union)'s educational policy, adding "If that is Bolshevism then I am a Bolshevik."Renton, Dave. ''Horatio Bottomley and the Far Right before Fascism''. Abingdon, Oxfordshire, 2023. {{ISBN|9781032306537}} (p. 146) In response, the right-wing magazine ''[John Bull](/source/John_Bull_(magazine))'' called Raynes "a dangerous fool and an unholy liar", and added "Derby should spew such a man...out from its midst." As one of the longest serving members of the council, he was nominated as the town's first Labour mayor in 1921 without opposition from the other parties. Derby Daily Telegraph, 2 November 1921 He was a [Member of Parliament](/source/Member_of_Parliament_(United_Kingdom)) for [Derby](/source/Derby_(UK_Parliament_constituency)) from 6 December 1923 to 29 October 1924{{Rayment-hc|D|1|date=January 2026}} and again between 1929 and 1931 but his greatest work was in local government. He moved to 85 Empress Road, Rose Hill around 1930 and was by then a Justice of the Peace. Kelly's Directory for Derbyshire, 1932 Alderman Raynes instigated many local projects including the Riverlands scheme in 1929, the 1932 flood prevention scheme and the Outer Ring Road. Bygone Derby pp.18-19 supplement to Derby Evening Telegraph, 17 January 2000 The Riverlands scheme involved straightening and clearing the tortuous course of the [River Derwent](/source/River_Derwent%2C_Derbyshire) downstream of Derby. The work was completed in 1934 at a cost of £300,000. It was expected to prevent the periodic flooding of large tracts of land in close proximity. Derby Corporation gained 800 acres of building land for industrial purposes as a result. Derby Evening Telegraph, 12 August 1986 p.21 Barrett's Derby County Borough directory, 1952 His name is commemorated in Raynesway, the section of the Derby Outer Ring Road, across the newly drained land between [Chaddesden](/source/Chaddesden) and [Alvaston](/source/Alvaston), opened on 28 September 1938 by the mayor of Derby, Mr E.E. Paulson. Derby Evening Telegraph, 29 September 1938 Alderman Raynes was still active in postwar politics in Derby, being present at the opening of the new council chamber in 1954. He died on 30 January 1966 aged 95. ==References== {{reflist}} == External links == * {{Hansard-contribs | mr-william-raynes| William Raynes }} {{s-start}} {{s-par|uk}} {{s-bef | before = [Charles Roberts](/source/Charles_Roberts_(British_politician)) | before2 = [J. H. Thomas](/source/J._H._Thomas) }} {{s-title | title = [Member of Parliament](/source/Member_of_Parliament_(United_Kingdom)) for [Derby](/source/Derby_(UK_Parliament_constituency)) | years = [1923](/source/1923_United_Kingdom_general_election) – [1924](/source/1924_United_Kingdom_general_election) | with = [J. H. Thomas](/source/J._H._Thomas) }} {{s-aft | after = [J. H. Thomas](/source/J._H._Thomas) | after2 = [Richard Luce](/source/Richard_Luce_(surgeon)) }} {{s-bef | before = [J. H. Thomas](/source/J._H._Thomas) | before2 = [Richard Luce](/source/Richard_Luce_(surgeon)) }} {{s-title | title = [Member of Parliament](/source/Member_of_Parliament_(United_Kingdom)) for [Derby](/source/Derby_(UK_Parliament_constituency)) | years = [1929](/source/1929_United_Kingdom_general_election) – [1931](/source/1931_United_Kingdom_general_election) | with = [J. H. Thomas](/source/J._H._Thomas) }} {{s-aft | after = [J. H. Thomas](/source/J._H._Thomas) | after2 = [William Allan Reid](/source/William_Allan_Reid) }} {{s-end}} {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Raynes, William Robert}} Category:1871 births Category:1966 deaths Category:UK MPs 1923–1924 Category:UK MPs 1929–1931 Category:Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies Category:Councillors in Derbyshire Category:People from Burntwood Category:Mayors of Derby Category:People from Osmaston, Derby Category:People from Alvaston Category:Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [William Raynes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Raynes) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Raynes?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.