Charles Grey Grey, or C G as he was known (13 November 1875 – 9 December 1953), was the founding editor of the British weekly ''

The Aeroplane ''Aeroplane'' (formerly ''Aeroplane Monthly'') is a British magazine devoted to aviation, with a focus on aviation history and preservation. __TOC__ ''The Aeroplane'' The weekly ''The Aeroplane'' launched in June 1911 under founding edito ...

'' and the second editor of ''

Jane's All the World's Aircraft ''Jane's All the World's Aircraft'' (now stylized Janes) is an aviation annual publication founded by John Frederick Thomas Jane in 1909. Long issued by Sampson Low, Marston in Britain (with various publishers in the U.S.), it has been published b ...

''. Among many honors, he became an honorary Companion of the

Royal Aeronautical Society The Royal Aeronautical Society, also known as the RAeS, is a British multi-disciplinary professional institution dedicated to the global aerospace community. Founded in 1866, it is the oldest aeronautical society in the world. Members, Fellows ...

. Grey was born on 13 November 1875 and educated at the Erasmus Smith School in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

and as an engineer at the Crystal Palace School of Engineering. Grey's first job was as a staff writer for '' The Autocar''. His secondary role as the magazine's aviation specialist resulted in a commission from Iliffe and Sons, Ltd. to edit a penny weekly aviation paper called ''

The Aero ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

''. In 1911, in partnership with Mr E V (Later Sir Victor) Sassoon, Grey founded ''

'', remaining as editor of the influential weekly until November 1939. He was a man of decided opinions as evidenced in his editorials for the magazine over three decades. Unfortunately for him these included strong support for the fascist dictators of Italy and Germany, which played no small part in his leaving the magazine. Grey took over as editor of the annual issues of ''Jane's All the World's Aircraft'' from 1916 to 1940. After leaving ''

'', Grey served from 1939 as air correspondent of ''The

Yorkshire Evening Post The ''Yorkshire Evening Post'' is a daily evening publication (delivered to newsagents every morning) published by Yorkshire Post Newspapers in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The paper provides a regional slant on the day's news, and traditi ...

'' and the ''

Edinburgh Evening News The ''Edinburgh Evening News'' is a daily newspaper and website based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was founded by John Wilson (1844–1909) and first published in 1873. It is printed daily, except on Sundays. It is owned by JPIMedia, which also ...

'' as well as various overseas journals. Grey also wrote a number of aviation books including '' A History of the Air Ministry'' (1940), ''The Luftwaffe'' (1944) and ''The Civil Air War'' (1945), the latter an opinionated review of likely post-war airline development and Britain's role in that process. "Anyone who read C G in the 'twenties and 'thirties without having met him might have supposed his critical references, and sometimes perverse and acid comments, reflected his nature and personality. Nothing could have been further from the truth. As long as we knew him he was a gentle and kindly man, always charming and generous to his friends, among whom he numbered rivals. Today there are men on Flight's staff who recall a kind word of encouragement here or a spot of advice there from the one-and-only C G, particularly when they were taking their first tentative steps in the hard and competitive world of journalism. His goodwill continued to be reflected in frequent correspondence. From the first to the last occasion upon which we talked to him, he never once failed to express either an original thought or to reveal an unexpected viewpoint on some current topic. Neither his writing nor his conversation was ever lacking in humour and regardless of one's age." -

Flight Magazine ''Flight International'' is a monthly magazine focused on aerospace. Published in the United Kingdom and founded in 1909 as "A Journal devoted to the Interests, Practice, and Progress of Aerial Locomotion and Transport", it is the world's oldes ...

, 18 December 1953, published after Grey's death on 9 December 1953.

References

Further reading