William Robert Raynes (1871–1966) by Ernest Townsend died 1944

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 Names of the Mayors for the Borough of Derby from the first that was chosen on 3 July 1638 by the king's charter then granted to the town. The two last bailiffs were the two first mayors, Mr Mellor being proclaimed 3 July 1638 to be the mayor u ...

. 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 Chasetown is a village in the town of Burntwood in Staffordshire, England. It is split between the civil parishes of Burntwood and Hammerwich. History Chasetown developed in the mid 19th century as a coal mining village. At first the village wa ...

, Staffordshire,

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 ...

. He was the son of

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

-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. The family moved to Osmaston, then outside the Borough of

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby g ...

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. In October 1911 he was selected to be the Labour party candidate for Osmaston Ward when a by-election was called following the untimely death of Councillor Edwin Goldsmith. As the winning candidate in the by-election, he became Derby's first Labour councillor. 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. He was a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

for

from 6 December 1923 to 29 October 1924 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. Alderman Raynes instigated many local projects including the Riverlands scheme in 1929, the 1932 flood prevention scheme and the Outer Ring Road. The Riverlands scheme involved straightening and clearing the tortuous course of the River Derwent 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. His name is commemorated in Raynesway, the section of the Derby Outer Ring Road, across the newly drained land between

Chaddesden Chaddesden, also known locally as Chadd, is a large residential suburb of Derby, United Kingdom. Historically a separate village centred on Chaddesden Hall and the 14th century St Mary's Church, the area was significantly expanded by 20th-centu ...

and

Alvaston Alvaston (/ˈɒlvəstən/ or /ˈælvəstən/) is a village and ward of Derby, England. Alvaston is situated on the A6, three miles south-east of Derby city centre and probably owes its name to Allwald. It is bordered to the north by the ...

, 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

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Raynes, William Robert 1871 births 1966 deaths UK MPs 1923–1924 UK MPs 1929–1931 Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies Councillors in Derbyshire People from Burntwood Mayors of Derby People from Osmaston, Derby People from Alvaston Labour Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies