The Reverend Sir David Thomas Rocyn-Jones,

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

, K St J, DL, JP (16 November 1862 – 30 April 1953) was a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

medical officer of health and servant of multiple professional bodies within Wales.

Professional career

Rocyn-Jones was born in

Rhymney Rhymney (; cy, Rhymni ) is a town and a community in the county borough of Caerphilly, South Wales. It is within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire. With the villages of Pontlottyn, Fochriw, Abertysswg, Deri and New Tredegar, Rhymney is ...

to a notable

bonesetter Traditional bone-setting is a type of a folk medicine in which practitioners engaged in joint manipulation. Before the advent of chiropractors, osteopaths and physical therapists, bone-setters were the main providers of this type of treatment. T ...

, Thomas Rocyn Jones and Mary Rees, who was a descendant of the preacher Rhys Davies. He was educated at

Lewis School, Pengam Lewis School, Pengam is a comprehensive school, founded in 1729 in the parish and village of Gelligaer and, later, moved to the nearby village of Gilfach, in the Rhymney Valley in South Wales. It was founded and funded by a legacy of Sir Edward L ...

, and later at

University College, Cardiff , latin_name = , image_name = Shield of the University of Cardiff.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms of Cardiff University , motto = cy, Gwirionedd, Undod a Chytgord , mottoeng = Truth, Unity and Concord , established = 1 ...

. Rocyn-Jones gained his MB in 1897 from the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

and then returned to Wales to become a general practitioner in

Abertillery Abertillery (; cy, Abertyleri) is a town and a community of the Ebbw Fach valley in the historic county of Monmouthshire, Wales. Following local government reorganisation it became part of the Blaenau Gwent County Borough administrative area. ...

where he also held the post of chief surgeon at the Powell CollieriesSmith (1980), pg 310. and Honorary Surgeon to

Abertillery RFC Abertillery Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union club based in Abertillery. According to their website, they were founded in 1883 by a coal miner named Doug Wallace who was a local resident who moved from Scotland in 1882, Wallace was know ...

.Thomas, Irene and Thomas, Keith. 1983 Abertillery Rugby Football Club, the Centenary Book, Barry, Wales Stewart Williams. After passing his DPH qualification in

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, he was appointed the first

Medical Officer for Health A medical officer of health, also known as a medical health officer, chief health officer, chief public health officer or district medical officer, is the title commonly used for the senior government official of a health department, usually at a ...

for

Monmouthshire Monmouthshire ( cy, Sir Fynwy) is a county in the south-east of Wales. The name derives from the historic county of the same name; the modern county covers the eastern three-fifths of the historic county. The largest town is Abergavenny, with ...

in 1908, responsible for ill-health prevention strategies within the county, with a yearly salary of £600. Retiring from this post in 1946, he was succeeded by his son, Gwyn. He was one of the founders of the

King Edward VII Welsh National Memorial Association The King Edward VII Welsh National Memorial Association or WNMA was a Welsh voluntary association set up to combat tuberculosis. The lord mayor of Cardiff, alderman John Chappell, convened a meeting in Shrewsbury on 30 September 1910 to decide w ...

, an organisation set up in 1911 to prevent and treat tuberculosis. Rocyn-Jones continued his relationship with University College, Cardiff, becoming its vice-president, and would later become involved in the creation of the

University of Wales College of Medicine The Cardiff University School of Medicine ( cy, Ysgol Feddygaeth Prifysgol Caerdydd) is the medical school of Cardiff University and is located in Cardiff, Wales, UK. Founded in 1893 as part of the University College of South Wales and Monmou ...

. In 1920 he was appointed a

, and in 1948 was knighted.

Association to professional bodies

Rocyn-Jones served on many professional bodies, including the

British Medical Association The British Medical Association (BMA) is a registered trade union for doctors in the United Kingdom. The association does not regulate or certify doctors, a responsibility which lies with the General Medical Council. The association's headquar ...

and St. John Ambulance. Outside of medicine, he also had a deep love and knowledge of

rugby football Rugby football is the collective name for the team sports of rugby union and rugby league. Canadian football and, to a lesser extent, American football were once considered forms of rugby football, but are seldom now referred to as such. The ...

and in 1947 became President of the

Welsh Rugby Union The Welsh Rugby Union (WRU; cy, Undeb Rygbi Cymru) is the Sports governing body, governing body of rugby union in the country of Wales, recognised by the sport's international governing body, World Rugby. The WRU is responsible for the running ...

, taking over from

Horace Lyne Horace Sampson Lyne MBE (31 December 1860 – 1 May 1949) was a Welsh international rugby union forward who played club rugby for Newport Rugby Football Club. He won five caps for Wales. After retiring from play, he became the longest serving pr ...

, holding the post until his death in 1953. In 1964, his son

Nathan Nathan or Natan may refer to: People *Nathan (given name), including a list of people and characters with this name *Nathan (surname) *Nathan (prophet), a person in the Hebrew Bible * Nathan (son of David), biblical figure, son of King David an ...

would follow his father in also becoming President of the WRU.

Private life

Rocyn Jones married Alla Jones in 1901. They had four sons, two of whom, Gwyn and

, continued the family tradition of entering the medical profession. Nathan would not only follow his grandfather's profession, of working with bones, by becoming an orthopaedic surgeon, but would also continue the family links to rugby by representing

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

in 1925. In terms of religious faith Rocyn-Jones was a staunch Congregationalist, into which denomination he was ordained in addition to his medical training.Smith, D and Williams, G. 1980. Fields of Praise, the Official History of the Welsh Rugby Union. Cardiff, University of Wales Press He is remembered for his beliefs, but also for having a gentle sense of humour he sometimes brought to bear on his medical work, as was shown on one occasion in his Abertillery years when he was required to treat a young rugby supporter injured by a wayward ball. "Well, boy", he is recalled as saying;" you've had a knock without playing"!

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rocyn-Jones, David 1862 births 1953 deaths Wales Rugby Union officials Alumni of Cardiff University People from Rhymney Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Knights of Grace of the Order of St John Knights Bachelor 19th-century Welsh medical doctors 20th-century Welsh medical doctors Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Deputy Lieutenants of Monmouthshire People educated at Lewis School, Pengam