Ray, John (Philip) 1929-

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RAY, John (Philip) 1929-

(Philip Lovegrove)

PERSONAL:

Born May 5, 1929, in London, England; son of John Albert (a railwayman) and Grace (Lovegrove) Ray; married Mary Creese, March 31, 1951; children: Susan, Margaret, Jennifer. Education: Attended Goldsmiths' College, London, 1946-48, and City Literary Institute (as extramural student), 1951-55; University of Kent (Canterbury, Kent, England), Ph.D., 1992. Religion: Church of England. Hobbies and other interests: The novels of Graham Greene, cricket, brass rubbing, boxing, old cars, drinking rum.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Cherrytrees, 10 Exeter Close, Tonbridge, Kent, England.

CAREER:

Schoolmaster and teacher of history and other subjects in British schools, 1948—, Hugh Christie School, Tonbridge, Kent, deputy headmaster. Military service: British Army, national service.

MEMBER:

Historical Association, Royal Historical Society (fellow), Society of Authors, Crime Writers Association.

WRITINGS:

A History of the Motor Car, Pergamon Press (New York, NY), 1966.

A History of Britain, 1900-1939, Pergamon Press (New York, NY), 1966.

The History of Flight, Heinemann Educational (London, England), 1968.

Britain and the Modern World, Heinemann Educational (London, England), 1969.

(With wife, Mary D. Ray) The Victorian Age, Heinemann Educational (London, England), 1969.

A History of Britain's Modern Transport, Heinemann Educational (London, England), 1969.

A History of the Railways, Heinemann Educational (London, England), 1969.

Hitler and Mussolini, Heinemann Educational (London, England), 1970.

Roosevelt and Kennedy, Heinemann Educational (London, England), 1970.

Lloyd George and Churchill, Heinemann Educational (London, England), 1970.

The Place of Women, Thomas Nelson (London, England), 1971.

The Growth of Schools, Thomas Nelson (London, England), 1972.

Headline History: Nineteenth Century, Dent (London, England), 1972.

Headline History: Twentieth Century, Dent (London, England), 1973.

British Agriculture, Thomas Nelson (London, England), 1973.

Cars, A & C Black (London, England), 1973.

Inventors and Scientists, Thomas Nelson (London, England), 1974.

Britain between the Wars, Heinemann Educational (London, England), 1975.

The First World War, Heinemann Educational (London, England), 1975.

Headline History: 55 BC to 1485, Evans Brothers (London, England), 1976.

Headline History to 1485, Evans Brothers (London, England), 1976.

Headline History: Tudor and Stuart, Evans Brothers (London, England), 1976.

The Second World War, Heinemann Educational (London, England), 1977.

Headline History: The Eighteenth Century, Evans Brothers (London, England), 1978.

Discovery and Exploration, Heinemann Educational (London, England), 1980.

(Under pseudonym Philip Lovegrove) The Von Stahmer Jigsaw (novel), Cassell (London, England), 1980.

Britain in the World since 1945, Heinemann Educational (London, England), 1985.

(With James Hagerty) The Twentieth Century World, Hutchinson (London, England), 1986.

(With James Hagerty) The Course of British History, Volume 1: The Romans to the Middle Ages, Volume 2: Tudors and Stuarts, Volume 3: 1714 to the Present Day, Hutchinson Education (London, England), 1987.

Flight in the Twentieth Century, Longman (London, England), 1988.

The Battle of Britain: New Perspectives: Behind the Scenes of the Great Air War, Arms and Armour (London, England), 1994.

The Night Blitz, 1940-1941, Arms and Armour (London, England), 1996, new edition, Cassell (London, England), 2000.

The Second World War: A Narrative History, Cassell (London, England), 1999.

The Battle of Britain: Dowding and the First Victory, Cassell (London, England), 2000.

Contributor to books, including the Dictionary of National Biography.

SIDELIGHTS:

John Ray has drawn on his long career as a secondary school history teacher in writing many textbooks on his subject. Regarding The Second World War: A Narrative History, a Publishers Weekly contributor noted that his coverage of the Eastern, African, and Far Eastern Fronts is "satisfying to a degree rarely found in more detailed, specialized, or intimate accounts." Booklist's Jay Freeman commented that Ray "writes in a clear, unadorned prose that is easily digested" and called the history "a valuable resource."