William Reed-Lewis
by Joan Bond
- Born in Philadelphia 25th November 1860
- Married Rebecca Duane in 1880.
- There were five children of this marriage, two of whom died as infants
- Rebecca died in 1889 in Tangier where her husband was US Consul and Charge d'Affaires to Morocco 1887-1890
- He came to England and married Mary Balmain Wynch in St Leonards-on-Sea and for a time he resided in Belgium where children of this marriage were born.
- He became a Catholic in 1895.
- He resided in Bexhill-on-Sea 1911-1923. Whilst in Bexhill he founded the Bexhill library in 1912. This developed into both a Catholic library sending books all over the world and the Bexhill Public Library of which he is regarded as the founder.
- During the First World War he worked actively for Belgian refugees, being personally involved in arranging accommodation in schools and private homes in the Bexhill area.
- For this work he was awarded the MBE and in 1922 he was created a Knight of St Gregory by Pope Pius XI in recognition of his work for the library. After working for the Catholic Truth Society in London he and his wife retired to Dinard in Brittany in the 1930's
- He was still in Dinard in 1940 when the Germans occupied France
- As he had taken British citizenship, both he and wife were taken to an interment camp in Besancon where he died on 17th January 1941.
- His wife survived the camp and on being repatriated to this country, in very poor health, lived with the Poor Clares in Notting Hill, where their daughter was a member of the community, until her death.