A past chairman of the Bury Council has paid tribute to the outstanding leadership of Malcolm Gray, the district’s chief education officer from his founding in 1974 to his retirement in 1992.
90-year-old Gray died on April 18 at St. James’s Hospital in Leeds. His funeral took place yesterday. Ex-Councilor Laurie Bullas told the Bury Times: “Under his leadership, Bury, one of the smallest and worst-funded education agencies in the country, became one of the best.
“We were fortunate to have Malcolm in the post during the massive restructuring of the local government in England from 1973 to 1974, and he gathered a first class team of officers around him.
“They have done their best to support the schools in their efforts to cope with the constant changes brought about by the national governments of both main parties. Malcolm’s priority has always been the children and their attainment.
“As a result, Bury has always been one of the top three Greater Manchester Local Authorities when it comes to GCSE results.
“The situation has now changed and the local education authorities are no longer able to provide the school support that Bury was able to give back then.”
Mr. Gray was born in Derbyshire and graduated from Bristol University. After doing community service as an education officer in the RAF, he became a geography teacher. He then moved to the Education Department in Rotherham, became Assistant Director of Education at Solihull and Director of Education at Wakefield before moving to Bury.
Mr. Bullas said, “Malcolm’s philosophy was captured in the answer he gave when I asked him one day how he was coping with pressure from many different directions.
“He said if he felt like it would reach him, he would spend a morning in elementary school and ‘that reminds me what it’s about. ‘”
After his retirement, Mr. Gray served on the board of directors at Bury Hospice for many years. He was a season ticket holder with Bury FC, watched cricket at Old Trafford and was a member of the Ainsworth Methodist Church.
His first wife, Maureen, died in 1980. After the death of his second wife, Bertha, in 2007, he moved back to Wakefield to be close to his family. He leaves behind four children, nine grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
His daughter Vivienne Crossley said: “He was loved very much and will be missed very much by all of us and his large circle of friends.”
The funeral took place at Crigglestone Methodist Church and Wakefield Crematorium, and due to current restrictions, only close family members attended.