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=                        John_Thackray_Bunce                         =
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                            Introduction
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John Thackray Bunce (11 April 1828 – 28 June 1899) was a British
journalist and writer. He served as editor of 'Aris's Birmingham
Gazette' from 1860 to 1862, and of the 'Birmingham Post' from 1862 to
1898.


                            Early years
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Bunce was born in Faringdon, Berkshire, to John Bunce, watchmaker and
silversmith, and his wife, Mary, née Clapham. Mary's mother's maiden
name had been Thackray. The family moved to Birmingham when Bunce was
nine and he attended Gem Street elementary branch school, operated by
the Foundation of the Schools of King Edward VI.


                             Journalism
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Aged 14, Bunce left school and began work as a printer's apprentice
with the 'Midland Counties Herald', a newspaper. He was given a job as
a reporter after writing a letter, anonymously, calling for Birmingham
to have an art gallery. He left the 'Herald' in 1852 to work for
another Birmingham paper, 'Aris's Birmingham Gazette', and was
promoted as its editor in 1860. The 'Gazette' followed a tory line and
Bunce was increasingly of a liberal persuasion, eventually resigning
after hearing an address by John Bright. In 1862, he became editor of
the more liberal 'Birmingham Daily Post'.

An antiquarian, he wrote a number of books on the history of
Birmingham institutions and people, including St Martin's church, the
artist David Cox and industrialist Josiah Mason, as well as books for
children.

He also wrote for 'The Fortnightly Review', 'Macmillan's Magazine',
and 'National Review' and became a founding fellow of the Institute of
Journalists (later the Chartered Institute of Journalists) in 1889.


                              Politics
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In 1877, Bunce was a founder member of the National Liberal
Federation. He resigned his positions in Liberal Party organizations
in 1886, during internal disputes over Irish home rule, but lent his
support to the imperial policies of Joseph Chamberlain in 1888.


                             Civic life
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Retaining ties with his former school, Bunce became a governor and
bailiff of the King Edward VI Foundation's Grammar School. He sat on
the committee that developed Birmingham's first Central Library, and
was an organizer of the National Education League.

He advocated for the foundation of the Birmingham Municipal School of
Art, and spoke in favour of both education and "free and open" careers
for women.

Bunce served as a trustee of Mason Science College (the predecessor
college of the University of Birmingham), and as a magistrate, and was
a patron of Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, and a fellow of the
Royal Statistical Society.


                               Legacy
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Bunce, having retired in 1898, died on 28 June 1899 at home, of heart
failure. He had been due to be given an enamelled silver commemorative
casket, created by Florence Camm and Violet Holden, to mark his being
granted the freedom of the city of Birmingham on 21 March 1899. The
casket is now in the collection of Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery.

Bunce married Rebecca Ann Cheesewright (1823/4-1891) on 5 July 1849.
She predeceased him, and both are buried at Edgbaston Old Church. Two
of their daughters were the artists Kate Bunce and Myra Bunce. Two
other daughters died in infancy, another as a young woman.

Their home, "Longworth", at 24 Priory Road, Edgbaston, was designed
for Bunce by William Harris and Henry Martin. It is now part of the
Priory Hospital and grade II listed.

A collection of manuscripts acquired by Bunce, as well as some of his
own correspondence, is now in the Cadbury Research Library at the
University of Birmingham.


License
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Original Article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Thackray_Bunce