Ray Wells began his career in journalism as a caption writer with the Mirror Group after returning from Libya where he had been working on engineering projects until local conditions under the Gaddafi regime deteriorated to the point where he had to leave.

Wells spent seven years at The Mirror before becoming Picture Editor of Fleet Street News Agency. After stints on The Mail on Sunday and The Observer, he joined The Times, then moved to The Sunday Times as deputy Picture Editor under the editorship of Andrew Neil. He was subsequently Picture Editor of The Sunday Times for 26 years and one of the paper’s contributing photographers, working across the Middle East and DRC as well as the UK.