Sir Edward Raymond Streat (7 February 1897 – 13 September 1979) was a British administrator associated with the cotton industry. Streat was born in Prestwich, Lancashire, the fifth of six children of Edward Streat, a commercial traveller, and Helen Wallis. His father later remarried. Streat was educated 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 ...

until 1913, when he left to become an office boy. Within a few months, he defied his father's wishes by enlisting in the 18th Manchester Regiment. Thereafter, he was wounded while on active service in France during the First World War. He attained the rank of Captain before leaving the army in 1919. After six months working for an insurance business 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 ...

, Streat beat 600 applicants to become assistant secretary to the Manchester Chamber of Commerce (MCC). He was made secretary soon after, in January 1920, following the death of the incumbent officeholder. Biographer Marguerite Dupre notes that Raised as a

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 Charle ...

, like his father, but eventually becoming an Anglican, Streat married Doris Davies on 16 March 1921. The couple had three sons. He continued to work for the MCC until he was appointed as chairman of the Cotton Board in June 1940. Two years earlier, he had been elected to the court of governors of

Manchester University , 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 ...

and between 1936 and 1938 he had served as president of the

Manchester Statistical Society The Manchester Statistical Society is a learned society founded in 1833 in Manchester, England. It has a distinguished history, having played an important part in researching economic and social conditions using social surveys. It continues to ...

. When Streat left the Cotton Board in 1957, he succeeded Ernest Simon as chairman of the council of Manchester University, an institution with which he had remained connected since his first election. He had been elected to the council in 1943 and was appointed its treasurer in 1951, thus having a significant role in creating the financial structure between government and university that allowed for the building of the radio telescope facility at

Jodrell Bank Jodrell Bank Observatory () in Cheshire, England, hosts a number of radio telescopes as part of the Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics at the University of Manchester. The observatory was established in 1945 by Bernard Lovell, a radio astro ...

. The university awarded him with an honorary LL.D in 1963; he had previously been a visiting fellow of

Nuffield College, Oxford Nuffield College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is a graduate college and specialises in the social sciences, particularly economics, politics and sociology. Nuffield is one of Oxford's newer c ...

, from 1944 and was elected an honorary fellow there in 1959. Streat died in Churchill Hospital,

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, on 13 September 1979.

Honours

Streat was appointed a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

in 1930 and a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are th ...

in 1942. He was appointed as a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1957.

References

External links

Raymond Streat Papers

John Rylands Library The John Rylands Research Institute and Library is a Victorian era, late-Victorian Gothic Revival architecture, neo-Gothic building on Deansgate in Manchester, England. It is part of the University of Manchester. The library, which opened to t ...

, University of Manchester {{DEFAULTSORT:Streat, Raymond Businesspeople awarded knighthoods British textile industry businesspeople Cotton industry in England 1897 births 1979 deaths British Army personnel of World War I Manchester Regiment officers Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Knights Bachelor Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Fellows of Nuffield College, Oxford People from Prestwich People associated with the University of Manchester People educated at Manchester Grammar School 20th-century English businesspeople