Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge ...

William Thomas Reay CBE VD (10 November 1858 – 11 November 1929) was an Australian journalist,

newspaper editor An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...

, and politician, as well as a police and army officer.

Early life

The son of an English sailmaker, Edward William Raey and his Irish wife, Johanna Brennen, Reay was born in Balmain, Sydney, but grew up in Williamstown,

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...

. He ran away to sea when he was thirteen, but left his ship at

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...

, and worked as a clerk for a while before working his way home. He then attended King's College, Melbourne and joined the Victoria Sugar Company at

Yarraville Yarraville is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Maribyrnong local government area. Yarraville recorded a population of 15,636 at the . Yarraville ...

, where he worked for nine years.

Career

In June 1883 he bought the '' Coleraine Albion'', followed by the '' Port Melbourne Standard''. From 1887 to 1890 he was editor of the '' Hamilton Spectator'', and from 1891 he was leader-writer and assistant editor of the Melbourne ''

Daily Telegraph Daily or The Daily may refer to: Journalism * Daily newspaper, newspaper issued on five to seven day of most weeks * ''The Daily'' (podcast), a podcast by ''The New York Times'' * ''The Daily'' (News Corporation), a defunct US-based iPad new ...

''. When it closed in 1892 he moved to the ''

Melbourne Weekly Times Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung–Taungurung language, Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the St ...

'' and then to '' The Herald'' as literary editor and later associate editor. In 1886, he obtained a commission in the

Victorian Mounted Rifles The Victorian Mounted Rifles (VMR) was a regiment composed of Australian forces that served in the Second Boer War. It was first raised by Colonel Tom Price in the mid-1880s, composed of voluntary forces. It was composed of several contingents, th ...

and commanded a detachment of them at the Queen's diamond jubilee in London in 1897. In October 1899 he accompanied the first Australian contingent to the

South African War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the South ...

, serving under Lieutenant-General Rundle in the area of the

Orange River The Orange River (from Afrikaans/Dutch: ''Oranjerivier'') is a river in Southern Africa. It is the longest river in South Africa. With a total length of , the Orange River Basin extends from Lesotho into South Africa and Namibia to the north ...

, and was awarded the South African Medal at Jasfontein after visiting the grave of a fellow Australian correspondent William Lambie in

Boer Boers ( ; af, Boere ()) are the descendants of the Dutch-speaking Free Burghers of the eastern Cape frontier in Southern Africa during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. From 1652 to 1795, the Dutch East India Company controlled this are ...

-held territory. Reay also wrote articles as a war correspondent for ''The Herald'' and the ''

South Australian Register ''The Register'', originally the ''South Australian Gazette and Colonial Register'', and later ''South Australian Register,'' was South Australia's first newspaper. It was first published in London in June 1836, moved to Adelaide in 1837, and f ...

'' until he returned ill after the capture of

Bloemfontein Bloemfontein, ( ; , "fountain of flowers") also known as Bloem, is one of South Africa's three capital cities and the capital of the Free State province. It serves as the country's judicial capital, along with legislative capital Cape To ...

. From Australia he published ''Australians in War'' (1900), which was widely distributed to Victorian soldiers. He retired from the Mounted Rifles in 1903 with the rank of

Lieutenant-Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colo ...

, although, perhaps with an eye towards the likelihood of further hostilities, he wrote a report on the training of volunteers based on the Swiss system.

Politics

In 1900, on his third attempt, he was elected to the

Victorian Legislative Assembly The Victorian Legislative Assembly is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria in Australia; the upper house being the Victorian Legislative Council. Both houses sit at Parliament House in Spring Street, Melbourne. The presidin ...

as the member for East Bourke Boroughs, describing himself as

radical Radical may refer to: Politics and ideology Politics * Radical politics, the political intent of fundamental societal change *Radicalism (historical), the Radical Movement that began in late 18th century Britain and spread to continental Europe an ...

and often voting with

Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the la ...

Policing career and accolade

He also resumed his newspaper career, becoming ''The Herald's'' managing editor in 1904. In 1911 he moved to London as ''The Herald's'' representative and stayed in England until his death. In the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

he joined the

Metropolitan Special Constabulary The Metropolitan Special Constabulary (MSC) is the volunteer police force of the Metropolitan Police Service. It is one of three Special Constabularies operating within London, the others being part of the City of London Police and British Tra ...

, becoming a Divisional Commander and in 1915

Inspector-General An inspector general is an investigative official in a civil or military organization. The plural of the term is "inspectors general". Australia The Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security (Australia) (IGIS) is an independent statutory of ...

of Divisions. For this work he was appointed

Officer 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 ...

(OBE) in 1917 and promoted to Commander (CBE) in the 1920 civilian war honours.

Personal life

Reay married Lucinda Braithwaite Broadbent on 10 April 1882 at Hotham Hill, Melbourne, and had five daughters, two of whom were nurses; one was awarded the

Royal Red Cross The Royal Red Cross (RRC) is a military decoration awarded in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth for exceptional services in military nursing. Foundation The award was established on 27 April 1883 by Queen Victoria, with a single class of Mem ...

and the other worked for the hospital voluntary service. Reay died at Woolwich Memorial Hospital, London, a day after his 71st birthday, and was cremated at

West Norwood Cemetery West Norwood Cemetery is a rural cemetery in West Norwood in London, England. It was also known as the South Metropolitan Cemetery. One of the first private landscaped cemeteries in London, it is one of the " Magnificent Seven" cemeteries of ...

, where his remains were scattered.

References

''Australian Dictionary of Biography''
* Obituary, ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ( ...

'', 14 November 1929 * Lord Kitchener's Dispatches, ''

London Gazette London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major se ...

'', 15 November 1901 {{DEFAULTSORT:Reay, William Thomas 1858 births 1929 deaths Journalists from Sydney Journalists from Melbourne Burials at West Norwood Cemetery Victoria (Australia) state politicians Australian newspaper editors Australian war correspondents Australian Army officers Metropolitan Special Constabulary officers Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Australian people of Irish descent Australian emigrants to England The Herald (Melbourne) people Politicians from Sydney People from Williamstown, Victoria