Alan Reay

Lieutenant General Sir Hubert Alan John Reay, KBE, FRCP, CStJ (19 March 1925 – 4 February 2012) was a senior British Army officer. He served as Director General Army Medical Services between 1981 and 1984.

Sir Alan Reay
Birth nameHubert Alan John Reay
Born(1925-03-19)19 March 1925
Hednesford, Staffordshire, England
Died4 February 2012(2012-02-04) (aged 86)
Buried
East Sheen Cemetery
Allegiance United Kingdom
Service/branch British Army
Years of service1949–1985
RankLieutenant General
Service number406929[1]
Unit Royal Army Medical Corps

Early life

Reay was born on 19 March 1925 in Hednesford, Staffordshire. His father, a chaplain, had been awarded the Military Cross during World War I.[2] He was educated at Lancing College, then an all-boys public school in the village of Lancing, West Sussex.[3] He studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh, graduating in 1948 with Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MB ChB) degrees.[4]

Military career

On 23 October 1949, as part of national service, Reay was commissioned into the Royal Army Medical Corps with the rank of lieutenant. He was promoted to captain on 23 October 1950.[5][6] On 23 November 1949, he transferred from the National Service List to the regular army on a short service commission.[7] His first posting was as a Regimental Medical Officer attached to 1st Battalion, The Devonshire Regiment in the Federation of Malaya[2] during the Malayan Emergency.[8] By April 1952, he was a temporary major.[9] He transferred to a regular commission on 26 November 1952 in the rank of captain.[10] He was promoted to substantive major on 23 October 1957.[11] He was promoted to lieutenant colonel on 23 October 1962.[12]

He was promoted to colonel on 23 October 1972.[13] He was promoted to brigadier on 14 July 1976.[14] On 4 July 1977, he was appointed Commandant and Postgraduate Dean of the Royal Army Medical College and was granted the local rank of major general.[15] He was promoted to substantive major general on 1 August 1977.[16] In 1979, he was appointed Director of Medical Services BAOR.[17] He was promoted to lieutenant general on 7 April 1981 with seniority from 7 November 1980.[18] He served as Director General Army Medical Services from 1981 to 1984.[17]

He retired from the British Army on 25 February 1985.[19]

Later life

Reay served as chairman of Lambeth health care NHS trust between 1992 and 1997.[2]

He died on 4 February 2012, aged 86.[3] His funeral was held at St Mary's Church, Barnes, London on 24 February. He was buried at East Sheen Cemetery.[20]

Personal life

In 1960, Reay married Ferelith Deane. Together they had three sons and two daughters. One of their sons predeceased him.[2] Lady Reay died on 16 December 2016.[21]

Honours and decorations

On 4 April 1952, it was gazetted that Reay had been Mentioned in Despatches "in recognition of gallant and distinguished services in Malaya, during the period 1st July to 31st December, 1951".[9]

He was appointed Officer of the Venerable Order of Saint John (OStJ) in December 1980,[22] and promoted to Commander of the Venerable Order of Saint John (CStJ) in May 1981.[23] In the 1981 Queen's Birthday Honours, he was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE).[24]

Having been appointed Honorary Physician to the Queen (QHP) on 3 January 1976,[25] he was succeeded in the appointment on 25 February 1985.[26] On 5 May 1986, he was appointed Honorary Colonel of the 217 (London) General Hospital Royal Army Medical Corps (Volunteers), a Territorial Army unit.[27] His tenure expired on 19 March 1990.[28]

References
  1. "No. 38768". The London Gazette (Supplement). 25 November 1949. p. 5596.
  2. "Lieutenant-General Sir Alan Reay". The Telegraph. 6 March 2012. Retrieved 8 November 2012.
  3. "Lieutenant General Sir Alan Reay: Soldier who fought cutbacks". The Guardian. 9 March 2012. Retrieved 8 November 2012.
  4. "BIOGRAPHICAL SUMMARY: DIRECTOR GENERAL ARMY MEDICAL SERVICES" (PDF). Journal of the Royal Army Medical Corps (127): 4–5. 1981. Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 July 2012. Retrieved 8 November 2012.
  5. "No. 39054". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 October 1950. p. 5418.
  6. "No. 39080". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 December 1950. p. 5998.
  7. "No. 38784". The London Gazette (Supplement). 16 December 1949. p. 5950.
  8. "Lieutenant General Sir Alan Reay KBE FRCP Edin". Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. Archived from the original on 23 December 2012. Retrieved 8 November 2012.
  9. "No. 39507". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 April 1952. pp. 1880–1881.
  10. "No. 39723". The London Gazette (Supplement). 19 December 1952. p. 6718.
  11. "No. 41209". The London Gazette (Supplement). 22 October 1957. p. 6181.
  12. "No. 42813". The London Gazette (Supplement). 19 October 1962. p. 8268.
  13. "No. 12511". The London Gazette (Supplement). 24 October 1972. p. 45809.
  14. "No. 47067". The London Gazette (Supplement). 15 November 1976. p. 15405.
  15. "No. 47270". The London Gazette (Supplement). 11 July 1977. p. 9043.
  16. "No. 47289". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 August 1977. p. 9973.
  17. "Lieutenant General Sir Alan Reay: Soldier who fought cutbacks". The Independent. 9 March 2012. Retrieved 17 March 2014.
  18. "No. 48606". The London Gazette (Supplement). 11 May 1981. p. 6631.
  19. "No. 50059". The London Gazette (Supplement). 11 March 1985. p. 3467.
  20. "REAY". Telegraph Announcements. The Telegraph. February 2012. Retrieved 17 November 2012.
  21. "Reay". Telegraph Announcements. The Daily Telegraph. 21 December 2016. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  22. "No. 48456". The London Gazette. 18 December 1980. pp. 17522–17527.
  23. "No. 48605". The London Gazette. 11 May 1981. p. 6579.
  24. "No. 48639". The London Gazette (Supplement). 12 June 1981. p. 5.
  25. "No. 46807". The London Gazette (Supplement). 26 January 1976. p. 1289.
  26. "No. 50066". The London Gazette (Supplement). 18 March 1985. p. 3885.
  27. "No. 50515". The London Gazette (Supplement). 12 May 1986. p. 6486.
  28. "No. 52254". The London Gazette (Supplement). 24 August 1990. p. 13854.
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