Donald Clifford Gray (born 1930) is a British

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

priest,

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a Minister (Christianity), minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a laity, lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secularity, secular institution (such as a hosp ...

, and academic. From 1987 to 1998, he was

Chaplain to the Speaker of the House of Commons The Chaplain to the Speaker of the House of Commons, also known as the Speaker's Chaplain, is a Church of England priest who officiates at services held at the Palace of Westminster and its associated chapel, St Mary Undercroft. The Chaplain a ...

and

Rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

St Margaret's, Westminster The Church of St Margaret, Westminster Abbey, is in the grounds of Westminster Abbey on Parliament Square, London, England. It is dedicated to Margaret of Antioch, and forms part of a single World Heritage Site with the Palace of Westminster a ...

Early life and education

Gray was born 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 ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in 1930, the son of Henry Hackett Gray. His grandfather, Richard Hackett, was

Father of the Chapel A union representative, union steward, or shop steward is an employee of an organization or company who represents and defends the interests of their fellow employees as a labor union member and official. Rank-and-file members of the union hold ...

printer Printer may refer to: Technology * Printer (publishing), a person or a company * Printer (computing), a hardware device * Optical printer for motion picture films People * Nariman Printer (fl. c. 1940), Indian journalist and activist * James ...

at 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 ...

and president of the Typographical Association. Having trained for the priesthood at

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

and

St Boniface Missionary College, Warminster St Boniface College, Warminster, formerly St Boniface Missionary College, was an Anglican educational institution in the Wiltshire town of Warminster, England during the last third of the 19th century and the first two-thirds of the 20th. It was ...

. He was awarded a

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common Academic degree, degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields ...

(PhD) by the

University of Manchester , mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity , established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univer ...

in 1984.

Career

Ordained ministry

Gray was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...

in the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

as a

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...

in 1956 and as a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

in 1957. He served as a priest in the Diocese of Manchester until becoming

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 ...

the incumbent of Church of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in 1974. He also worked as the Chaplain of Huyton College Chapel, a private all-girls school from the 1970s until the early 1980s when he was Canon Grey but was called by a different title to the girls who went there, all of whom respected and like him greatly. In 1987 he was appointed a

canon of Westminster The Dean and Chapter of Westminster are the ecclesiastical governing body of Westminster Abbey, a collegiate church of the Church of England and royal peculiar in Westminster, Greater London. They consist of the dean and several canons meeting in ...

and Speaker's Chaplain. His role within the Westminster Chapter was that of Rector of

St. Margaret's, Westminster The Church of St Margaret, Westminster Abbey, is in the grounds of Westminster Abbey on Parliament Square, London, England. It is dedicated to Margaret of Antioch, and forms part of a single World Heritage Site with the Palace of Westminster ...

.The Antiquaries journal, Volume 71. 1993 That role and that of Speaker's Chaplain have been practically, though not necessarily, combined for some years.

Military service

He was for several years an

Honorary Chaplain to the Queen An Honorary Chaplain to the King (KHC) is a member of the clergy within the United Kingdom who, through long and distinguished service, is appointed to minister to the monarch of the United Kingdom. When the reigning monarch is female, Honorary Ch ...

(a military form of chaplain to the Queen) through his involvement with the Territorial Army In 1970 he was awarded the TD (Territorial Decoration). He was later appointed to the Royal Household as a chaplain to the Queen.

Honours

In 1988, Gray was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Historical Society A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

(FRHistS). On 22 February 2007, he was elected a

Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

(FSA).

Selected works

*Earth and Altar. Donald Gray, Alcuin / Canterbury Press (1986) *Chaplain to Mr Speaker. Donald Gray. HMSO (1991). *Ronald Jasper, His Life, His Work, and the ASB. Donald Gray. SPCK (1997). *Percy Dearmer : A Parson's Pilgrimage. Donald Gray. Canterbury Press (2000). *Memorial Services. Donald Gray. Alcuin / SPCK (2002). *All Majesty and Power : An Anthology of Royal Prayers. Donald Gray, Editor. Hodder & Stoughton (2000) *All Majesty and Power : An Anthology of Royal Prayers. Donald Gray, Editor. Eerdmans USA (2002) *The 1927-1928 Prayer Book Crisis Part 1. Donald Gray. SCM-Canterbury Press (2005) *The 1927-1928 Prayer Book Crisis Part 2. Donald Gray. SCM-Canterbury Press (2006)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gray, Donald Clifford 1930 births Living people Alumni of the Theological Department of King's College London Alumni of St Boniface Missionary College, Warminster Canons of Westminster Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London Fellows of the Royal Historical Society Honorary Chaplains to the Queen