Born in 1933 at Langmere, Norfolk, near Dickleburgh in the Waveney Valley, Ray first started working with horses when he was nine years old. He left school at eighteen and took a job with Albert Saunders at Langmere Hall, and by the time he was 21, Ray was head horseman.
This phase of his life ended in 1966 when, following the death of Albert Saunders, the horses were dispersed. Ray then started thirty years in the building trade with Shaw of Kenninghall. Throughout this time he had a second life as an entertainer, teamed with his wife and for for ten years they were members of the Norfolk Bred Concert Party. They performed at venues all over Norfolk and Suffolk, including the opening of the Sizewell power station.
Ray retired in 1998 and became volunteer horseman at the Museum of East Anglian Life, Stowmarket.