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Cyril Ray (16 March 1908 – 24 September 1991) was an English writer and journalist. After a spell as a war reporter, and then a foreign correspondent he became best known for writing about food and, especially, wine. He became a wine writer almost randomly, and had strong interests in other spheres such as military history and riding. His wife Elizabeth Ray also wrote about food. In addition to writing about food and wine, Ray wrote histories of major wine producers, including the champagne maker
Bollinger Bollinger () is a French Champagne house, a producer of sparkling wines from the Champagne region. They produce several labels of Champagne under the Bollinger name, including the vintage ''Vieilles Vignes Françaises, Grande Année'' and ''R.D. ...
and the
claret Bordeaux wine ( oc, vin de Bordèu, french: vin de Bordeaux) is produced in the Bordeaux region of southwest France, around the city of Bordeaux, on the Garonne River. To the north of the city the Dordogne River joins the Garonne forming the ...
houses Lafite and Mouton Rothschild. A strong socialist, he resigned from prominent positions when he felt his principles incompatible with those of the publication.


Life and career


Early years

Ray was born in
Bury, Lancashire Bury ( ) is a market town on the River Irwell in Greater Manchester, England. Metropolitan Borough of Bury is administered from the town, which had an estimated population of 78,723 in 2015. The town is within the Historic counties of Englan ...
, the eldest son of Albert Benson Ray (''né'' Rotenberg), an optician, and Rita Ray (''née'' Caminetsky), both
Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
. He was educated at the
Wesleyan Wesleyan theology, otherwise known as Wesleyan– Arminian theology, or Methodist theology, is a theological tradition in Protestant Christianity based upon the ministry of the 18th-century evangelical reformer brothers John Wesley and Charles W ...
church school in Bury and then at
Manchester Grammar School The Manchester Grammar School (MGS) in Manchester, England, is the largest independent school (UK), independent day school for boys in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1515 as a Grammar school#free tuition, free grammar school next to Manchester C ...
from where he won an open scholarship to
Jesus College, Oxford Jesus College (in full: Jesus College in the University of Oxford of Queen Elizabeth's Foundation) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship St ...
."Ray, Cyril"
''Who Was Who'', A & C Black, 1920–2008; online edition, Oxford University Press, December 2007, accessed 28 March 2011 "Cyril Ray"
''Contemporary Authors Online'', Gale Databases, accessed 29 March 2011 He had to leave Oxford after a year, as the family's funds ran out.Whitehorn, Katharine. "Socialist with a nose for good champagne", ''The Observer'', 29 September 1991, p. 22 When Ray left Oxford the
Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
was at its worst and worthwhile jobs were scarce. Ray worked as a teacher, and then took a job in a riding school, where riding became one of his great loves.Obituary, ''The Times'', 25 September 1991, p. 8 He took a short service commission in the
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
, and was posted to an obsolescent balloon squadron. His duties were light, and he had leisure for extensive reading. He then worked in a shop in
Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
, and then ran an ''avant garde'' cinema in
Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
, where he got to know staff from ''
The Manchester Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
''. In 1936, with their help, he was taken on as a general reporter for the paper. In 1939 Ray was working in ''The Manchester Guardian's'' London office. On the outbreak of the Second World War he was appointed as one of the paper's war correspondents, first with the Fifth Destroyer Flotilla in the
Channel Channel, channels, channeling, etc., may refer to: Geography * Channel (geography), in physical geography, a landform consisting of the outline (banks) of the path of a narrow body of water. Australia * Channel Country, region of outback Austral ...
, and then covering the North Africa landings in 1942 and the Eighth Army's Italian campaign. On one occasion, with no authority whatever, he assumed temporary command of a Canadian platoon in Italy when its officer and senior NCOs had been put out of action. He was
mentioned in dispatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...
. In 1944 he moved to the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
as correspondent with the American airborne assault on
Nijmegen Nijmegen (;; Spanish and it, Nimega. Nijmeegs: ''Nimwèège'' ) is the largest city in the Dutch province of Gelderland and tenth largest of the Netherlands as a whole, located on the Waal river close to the German border. It is about 6 ...
and with the Third Army push into Germany. There, too, he displayed conspicuous courage, and received an American army citation.


Post-war

After the war, Ray was for a time ''
The Daily Express The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first published as a broadsheet i ...
s correspondent in Rome. He followed that with a spell as a freelance, during which he enhanced his reputation as a broadcaster, already made in radio talks during the war. During this period he was also a member of
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
missions in Italy, Greece, and countries in east, central and southern Africa, between 1945 and 1950. in 1948 he published his first book, ''Scenes and Characters from Surtees'', his choice of extracts from the work of R. S. Surtees, the Victorian author of comic novels. From 1949 to 1956 he was on the staff of ''
The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...
''; his colleague Godfrey Smith later recalled, "He wrote the Atticus column and the Autolycus saleroom column. He was also Christopher Pym, the reviewer of thrillers. … He understudied
Harold Hobson Sir Harold Hobson CBE, (4 August 1904 – 12 March 1992) was an English drama critic and author. Early life and education Hobson was born in Thorpe Hesley near Rotherham then in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England. He attended Sheffield Gramm ...
and
Dilys Powell Elizabeth Dilys Powell, CBE (20 July 1901 – 3 June 1995) was a British film critic and travel writer who contributed to ''The Sunday Times'' for more than 50 years. Powell was known for her receptiveness to cultural change in the cinema and ...
as dramatic critic and film critic respectively … He was even, for one or two heady weeks, Sarah Bellamy, the chief features editor of the
women's page The women's page (sometimes called home page or women's section) of a newspaper was a section devoted to covering news assumed to be of interest to women. Women's pages started out in the 19th century as society pages and eventually morphed into ...
."Smith, Godfrey. "Godfrey Smith column", ''The Sunday Times'', 13 October 1991, p. 12 From 1950 to 1952 Ray was the paper's Moscow correspondent, a frustrating post at a time when the Soviet authorities were at their most secretive and suspicious. In 1953 he "settled down after 43 years as a bachelor, ''bon vivant'' and ''boulevardier'', to live happily ever after with his wife, Liz," – Elizabeth Mary Brocklehurst, with whom he had one son. She edited ''The Best of
Eliza Acton Eliza Acton (17 April 1799 – 13 February 1859) was an English food writer and poet who produced one of Britain's first cookery books aimed at the domestic reader, ''Modern Cookery for Private Families''. The book introduced the now-univ ...
'', a selection of recipes from Acton's ''
Modern Cookery for Private Families ''Modern Cookery for Private Families'' is an English cookery book by Eliza Acton. It was first published by Longmans in 1845, and was a best-seller, running through 13 editions by 1853, though its sales were later overtaken by Mrs Beeton. On th ...
''. One of Ray's strongest interests was military history, and in 1952 he published ''From Algiers to Austria: The History of 78 Division''. He held strong views on morals and politics. He left ''The Sunday Times'' over its editorial support for capital punishment. He joined ''
The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British magazine on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving weekly magazine in the world. It is owned by Frederick Barclay, who also owns ''The ...
'' in 1958. His colleagues there included
Bernard Levin Henry Bernard Levin (19 August 1928 – 7 August 2004) was an English journalist, author and broadcaster, described by ''The Times'' as "the most famous journalist of his day". The son of a poor Jewish family in London, he won a scholarship t ...
, Katharine Whitehorn and, later,
Elizabeth David Elizabeth David CBE (born Elizabeth Gwynne, 26 December 1913 – 22 May 1992) was a British cookery writer. In the mid-20th century she strongly influenced the revitalisation of home cookery in her native country and beyond with articles and bo ...
.David, pp. 9–10


Wine writer

Ray's position as a wine writer came out of his appointment in the early 1950s as editor of a magazine, ''The Compleat Imbiber'', sent to its customers by an independent wine merchant, W. and A. Gilbey. This led to invitations to contribute wine columns to ''
Punch Punch commonly refers to: * Punch (combat), a strike made using the hand closed into a fist * Punch (drink), a wide assortment of drinks, non-alcoholic or alcoholic, generally containing fruit or fruit juice Punch may also refer to: Places * Pun ...
'' and other magazines. In the words of ''The Times'', "Ray quickly developed his own style of wine writing, which was practical and factual with a lively spicing of anecdote. … His was a new voice in an area where flowery phrases had proliferated. He was ready to write about spirits as well as wine." He told Smith that his private idea of paradise would be to lie on a chaise-longue reading paperback thrillers and being brought
Guinness Guinness () is an Irish dry stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness at St. James's Gate, Dublin, Ireland, in 1759. It is one of the most successful alcohol brands worldwide, brewed in almost 50 countries, and available in ove ...
every hour by nubile girls. He wrote books about the makers of great wine, including
Bollinger Bollinger () is a French Champagne house, a producer of sparkling wines from the Champagne region. They produce several labels of Champagne under the Bollinger name, including the vintage ''Vieilles Vignes Françaises, Grande Année'' and ''R.D. ...
champagne, and Châteaux Lafite and Mouton Rothschild. To those who asked how a socialist could be a wine connoisseur he replied, "There is no more virtue in not minding what you eat and drink than in not minding whom you go to bed with."Driver, Christopher, "Belonger, resigner and socialist imbiber", ''The Guardian'', 26 September 1991, p. 35 When the proprietor of ''The Spectator'',
Ian Gilmour Ian Hedworth John Little Gilmour, Baron Gilmour of Craigmillar, (8 July 1926 – 21 September 2007) was a Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom. He was styled Sir Ian Gilmour, 3rd Baronet from 1977, having succeeded to his fath ...
, announced in 1962 that he proposed to stand for Parliament for the right-wing
Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...
party, Ray and many other ''Spectator'' writers left. He had already written for the Sunday paper, ''
The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...
'' since 1959, and he went on doing so until he retired in 1973. In retirement he continued to write for ''Punch'' and published another 14 books between 1973 and 1988. In his later years, Ray lived mostly in London, in his rooms at Albany. He died in 1991 at the age of 83.


Books


By Cyril Ray

*(ed.) ''Scenes and Characters from Surtees'', 1948 *''From Algiers to Austria: The History of 78th Division'', Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1952 *''The Pageant of London'', Batsford, 1957 *''Merry England'', Vista Books, 1958 *(ed.) ''The Gourmet's Companion'', Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1963 *''Regiment of the Line: The Story of the Lancashire Fusiliers'', Batsford, 1964'', abridged edition published as ''The Lancashire Fusiliers: The 20th Regiment of Foot'', Leo Cooper, 1971 *(ed.) ''Morton Shand’s Book of French Wines'', Penguin, 1964 *(ed.) ''Best Murder Stories'', Faber, 1965 *''The Wines of Italy'', McGraw, 1966, revised edition, Penguin, 1971. *''In a Glass Lightly'', Methuen, 1967. *''Lafite: The Story of Chateau Lafite-Rothschild'', P. Davies, 1968, Stein & Day, 1969, revised edition, 1982 *''Bollinger: The Story of a Champagne'', St. Martin's, 1971, revised edition, 1988 *''Cognac'', P. Davies, 1973'', Stein & Day'', 1974, revised edition, Harrap, 1985 *''Mouton-Rothschild: The Wine, the Family, the Museum'', Christie's Wine Department (London), 1974 *(with Elizabeth Ray) ''Wine with Food'', Sidgwick & Jackson, 1975 *''The Wines of France'', Allen Lane, 1976 *''The Wines of Germany'', Allen Lane, 1977 *''The Complete Book of Spirits and Liqueurs'', Macmillan, 1978 *''Cyril Ray's Book of Wine'', Morrow, 1978 (published in England as ''The St. Michael Guide to Wine'', Artus Publishing Co., 1978),(revised in 1982 and reprinted in 1985 by Peerage Books as "The Guide to Wine") *''Ray on Wine'', Dent, 1979 *''Lickerish Limericks'', Dent, 1979 *''Ruffino: the story of a Chianti'', 1979 *''Lickerish Limericks, with Filthy Pictures by Charles Mozley'', 1979 *''The New Book of Italian Wines'', Sidgwick & Jackson, 1982 *''Robert Mondavi of the Napa Valley'', Heinemann, 1984 *(ed.) ''Vintage Tales: Anthology of Wine and Other Intoxications'', Century Publishing, 1984


By Elizabeth Ray

* ''Resourceful Cook'', Macmillan, 1978 * ''Good Housekeeping Country Cooking'', Ebury Press, 1979 * (with
Prue Leith Dame Prudence Margaret Leith, (born 18 February 1940) is a South African restaurateur, chef, caterer, television presenter/broadcaster, journalist, cookery writer and novelist. She is Chancellor of Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh. She wa ...
) ''Alexis Soyer: Cook Extraordinary'', Southover Press, 1991 * (editor) ''The Best of Eliza Acton'', Longmans, Green, & Co., 1968 * ''Homemade Ice Cream'', Ebury Press, 1978


Notes


References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ray, Cyril 1908 births 1991 deaths English Jewish writers English food writers Wine critics Wine writers English non-fiction writers People from Bury, Greater Manchester English male non-fiction writers 20th-century English male writers