Charles Grey, or C G as he was known is the second editor of Jane's All the World's Aircraft. He became an honorary Companion of the Royal Aeronautical Society.
Grey was born on 13 November 1875 and educated at the Erasmus Smith School in Dublin and as an engineer at the Crystal Palace School of Engineering. Grey's first job was as a staff writer for The Autocar. His secondary role as the magazine's aviation specialist resulted in a commission from Iliffe and Sons, Ltd. to edit a penny weekly aviation paper called The Aero. In 1911, in partnership with Mr E V (Later Sir Victor) Sassoon, Grey founded The Aeroplane and he remained editor until 1939. Grey was a man of fascist sympathies and an ardent supporter of Hitler; in the 1930s he aired his anti-Semitic, anti-Bolshevist and pro-fascist opinions in his editorials. Grey took over as editor of Jane's All the World's Aircraft from 1916 to 1940. From 1939 he was air correspondent of The Yorkshire Evening Post, Edinburgh Evening News and various overseas journals. Grey also wrote a number of books including A History of British Air Ministry (1940), The Luftwaffe (1944) and The Civil Air War (1945).
"Anyone who read C G in the 'twenties and 'thirties without having met him might have supposed his critical references, and sometimes perverse and acid comments, reflected his nature and personality. Nothing could have been further from the truth. As long as we knew him he was a gentle and kindly man, always charming and generous to his friends, among whom he numbered rivals. Today there are men on Flight's staff who recall a kind word of encouragement here or a spot of advice there from the one-and-only C G, particularly when they were taking their first tentative steps in the hard and competitive world of journalism. His goodwill continued to be reflected in frequent correspondence. From the first to the last occasion upon which we talked to him, he never once failed to express either an original thought or to reveal an unexpected viewpoint on some current topic. Neither his writing nor his conversation was ever lacking in humour and regardless of one's age."
- Flight Magazine, 18 December 1953, published after Grey's death.