Edward Bray (judge)

{{Short description|English cricketer}}

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{{Use British English|date=March 2017}}

Sir Edward Bray ({{birth date|1849|8|19|df=yes}} – {{Death date|1926|6|19|df=yes}}) was an English lawyer and judge who served as a judge in Birmingham and London and as Controller of Contracts in the Indian Army Headquarters during World War I. He played cricket during the 1870s.[https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/28/28101/28101.html Edward Bray (born 1849)], CricketArchive. Retrieved 2020-06-13. {{subscription required}}.

Bray was born at Shere in Surrey in 1849, the son of Reginald Bray, a solicitor and Justice of the Peace.Venn J, Venn JA (1940) Alumni Cantabrigienses, part II, vol I, p.366. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ([https://archive.org/details/p2alumnicantabri01univuoft/page/366/mode/2up Available online]. Retrieved 2020-06-13.) He was educated at Westminster School, where he played cricket in the school XI.[http://www.espncricinfo.com/england/content/player/9957.html Sir Edward Bray], CricInfo. Retrieved 2020-06-13.[https://www.espncricinfo.com/wisdenalmanack/content/story/228170.html Bray, His Honour Sir Edward], Obituaries in 1926, Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, 1927. Retrieved 2020-06-13. He went on to study at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he gained cricket Blues in 1871 and 1872. Bray had already played for Surrey County Cricket Club and made his first-class cricket debut in 1870, and made a total of 30 first-class appearances between 1870 and 1879, the majority for his county side or Cambridge University.

Bray's family was descended from Thomas More, and he qualified as a barrister at Lincoln's Inn in 1875. He served as a County Court judge in Birmingham between 1905 and 1908 before returning to London as a judge at Bloomsbury and Brentford. During the First World War he served as the Controller of Contracts in the Indian Army Headquarters. He received a knighthood in the 1919 New Year Honours.

Bray's son, Sir Edward Hugh Bray, also served in India during the war and played first-class cricket for Middlesex County Cricket Club and Cambridge University.[https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/28/28102/28102.html Edward Bray (born 1874)], CricketArchive. Retrieved 2020-06-13. {{subscription required}}. Bray died at Kensington in London in 1926 aged 76.