Raymond Geoffrey Hassall (1943 – 12 March 2017), known as Ray, was a British politician Hassall served in local government in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...

, England representing

Perry Barr Perry Barr is a suburban area in north Birmingham, England. It is also the name of a council constituency, managed by its own district committee. Birmingham Perry Barr is also a parliamentary constituency; its Member of Parliament is Khalid M ...

ward for the Liberal Democrats party, and being

Birmingham City Council Birmingham City Council is the local government body responsible for the governance of the City of Birmingham in England, which has been a metropolitan district since 1974. It is the most populated local council area in the United Kingdom ...

's cabinet member for leisure, sport and culture from 2006 to 2009, and as Lord Mayor of the city in the year May 2015 to May 2016.

Early life

Hassall was born at Hallam Hospital in

West Bromwich West Bromwich ( ) is a market town in the borough of Sandwell, West Midlands, England. Historically part of Staffordshire, it is north-west of Birmingham. West Bromwich is part of the area known as the Black Country, in terms of geography ...

in 1943, before his family moved to nearby

Great Barr Great Barr is now a large and loosely defined area to the north-west of Birmingham, England. The area was historically in Staffordshire, and the parts now in Birmingham were once known as Perry Barr, which is still the name of an adjacent Birm ...

. In 1957, they moved to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

. He returned three years later and joined the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gur ...

Royal Corps of Signals The Royal Corps of Signals (often simply known as the Royal Signals – abbreviated to R SIGNALS or R SIGS) is one of the combat support arms of the British Army. Signals units are among the first into action, providing the battlefield commun ...

, from which he was demobbed in 1966. He subsequently worked for the GPO, latterly BT, from where he retired in 1991.

Political career

He was first elected to Perry Barr ward on 3 May 1990. He was also a trustee of

Birmingham Civic Society Birmingham Civic Society is a voluntary body in Birmingham, England, and is registered with the Civic Trust. History The society was founded at an inaugural meeting on 10 June 1918 in the Birmingham Council House. The first president of th ...

until 2016, serving as its President during his term of office as

Lord Mayor of Birmingham This is a list of the mayors and lord mayors of Birmingham in the West Midlands of England. Birmingham has had a mayor (and elected council) since 1838. The office was raised to the dignity of lord mayor when Queen Victoria issued letters pa ...

. Notably, Hassall served as Lord Mayor of the city of Birmingham in the year May 2015 to May 2016.

Death

He died unexpectedly, on 12 March 2017, age 74, at his home in the city's

Erdington Erdington is a suburb and ward of Birmingham in the West Midlands County, England. Historically part of Warwickshire and located northeast of central Birmingham, bordering Sutton Coldfield. It was also a council constituency, managed by its o ...

district, while serving as Deputy Lord Mayor of Birmingham. He was divorced, and his son predeceased him aged 40. His funeral was held on 12 May 2017, at St Peter and St Paul, Aston, followed by a memorial event and wake at

Alexander Stadium Alexander Stadium is a track and field athletics stadium in Perry Park, Birmingham, England. It hosted the athletics and opening/closing ceremonies of the 2022 Commonwealth Games. Other events held there include the annual British Grand Prix ...

. A separate civic memorial service was held at Birmingham Cathedral on 15 May.

References

External links

Stories featuring Hassall
in the Great Barr Observer
News releases featuring Hassall (as Lord Mayor)
on Birmingham City Council's 'Newsroom' website
News releases featuring Hassall (as Deputy Lord Mayor)
on Birmingham City Council's 'Newsroom' website {{DEFAULTSORT:Hassall, Ray 1943 births 2017 deaths Place of birth missing Liberal Democrats (UK) councillors Lord Mayors of Birmingham, West Midlands People from West Bromwich People from Great Barr British Telecom people Royal Corps of Signals soldiers 20th-century British Army personnel Military personnel from the West Midlands (county)