Walter Idris 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 ...

(18 January 1900 – 5 July 1971) was a Welsh industrial chemist and international

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

player. He captained the

Wales national rugby union team The Wales national rugby union team ( cy, Tîm rygbi'r undeb cenedlaethol Cymru) represents Wales in men's international rugby union. Its governing body, the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU), was established in 1881, the same year that Wales played the ...

on one occasion in 1925. Jones played his club rugby for

Llanelli RFC Llanelli Rugby Football Club ( cy, Clwb Rygbi Llanelli) is a Welsh rugby union club founded on 30 March 1872. The club's historic home ground was Stradey Park in Llanelli, but they moved in 2008 to the new Parc y Scarlets in adjacent Pember ...

Private life and education

Jones was born in

Llanelli Llanelli (" St Elli's Parish"; ) is a market town and the largest community in Carmarthenshire and the preserved county of Dyfed, Wales. It is located on the Loughor estuary north-west of Swansea and south-east of the county town, Carmarth ...

on 18 January 1900, the son of Frederick and Elizabeth Jones. His father worked in the tinplate industry. He was the brother of the politician Lord Elwyn-Jones. Jones won a scholarship to the

University College of Wales, Aberystwyth , mottoeng = A world without knowledge is no world at all , established = 1872 (as ''The University College of Wales'') , former_names = University of Wales, Aberystwyth , type = Public , endowment = ...

, where he graduated in chemistry in 1921. He then studied at

Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Gonville and Caius College, often referred to simply as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and one of t ...

, where in 1925 he obtained a PhD for research in organic chemistry. Idris Jones died in

Llandaff Llandaff (; cy, Llandaf ; from 'church' and ''River Taff, Taf'') is a district, Community (Wales), community and coterminous electoral ward in the north of Cardiff, capital of Wales. It was incorporated into the city in 1922. It is the seat of ...

on 5 July 1971 and was unmarried.

Rugby union

Jones captained Aberystwyth University Rugby Club (1919–1922) and played for

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III of England, Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world' ...

(1923–1925). He played for

London Welsh London Welsh Rugby Football Club ( cy, Clwb Rygbi Cymry Llundain) was a rugby union club formed in 1885. Based in Old Deer Park, Richmond-upon-Thames, London Welsh RFC played in the English Premiership in the 2012–13 and 2014–15 seaso ...

and

and for the

Barbarians A barbarian (or savage) is someone who is perceived to be either uncivilized or primitive. The designation is usually applied as a generalization based on a popular stereotype; barbarians can be members of any nation judged by some to be les ...

invitation team. He made four appearances for Wales in 1924 and 1925, scoring one

try Try or TRY may refer to: Music Albums * ''Try!'', an album by the John Mayer Trio * ''Try'' (Bebo Norman album) (2014) Songs * "Try" (Blue Rodeo song) (1987) * "Try" (Colbie Caillat song) (2014) * "Try" (Nelly Furtado song) (2004) * " Try (Ju ...

, and was captain in the Ireland v Wales match in Belfast on 14 March 1925.

Career

In 1926, Jones joined the research staff of Imperial Chemical Industries in

Billingham Billingham is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham, England. The town is on the north side of the River Tees and is governed by Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council. The settlement had previously formed i ...

, County Durham. In 1933, he returned to Wales as Research Manager for the Powell Duffryn Coal Company, where he developed ' Phurnacite' smokeless coal briquettes and worked on the manufacturing process for

colloidal fuel Colloidal fuel is an emulsion of powdered coal in kerosene or fuel oil. It was used in World War I aboard ships as kerosene supplies ran low. Development continued after the war, and in 1932 the Cunard liner ''Scythia Scythia (Scythian: ; Ol ...

. On the nationalisation of the British coal industry in 1946, Jones was invited to set up and lead the scientific service, becoming Director General of Research Development (Coal Processing and Combustion) at the

National Coal Board The National Coal Board (NCB) was the statutory corporation created to run the nationalised coal mining industry in the United Kingdom. Set up under the Coal Industry Nationalisation Act 1946, it took over the United Kingdom's collieries on "ve ...

. He retired from the National Coal Board in 1963, due to ill health. In retirement he was a part-time member of the

Wales Gas Board The area gas boards were created under the provisions of the Gas Act 1948 enacted by Clement Attlee's post-war Labour government. The Act nationalised the British gas industry and also created the Gas Council. History From the early 19th centur ...

, a vice-president the

, and chairman of its appointments board. He served on the Central Advisory Council for Education in Wales. He was President of the

Aberystwyth Old Students' Association Aberystwyth Old Students' Association ( cy, Cymdeithas y Cyn-Fyfyrwyr Aberystwyth), founded in 1892, is Aberystwyth University's alumni association and is one of the oldest such associations in the United Kingdom. It currently has more than 9,50 ...

in 1965–66.

Honours

* Fellow of the

Chemical Society The Chemical Society was a scientific society formed in 1841 (then named the Chemical Society of London) by 77 scientists as a result of increased interest in scientific matters. Chemist Robert Warington was the driving force behind its creation. ...

* Fellow of the

Institute of Fuel The Energy Institute (EI) is a professional organization for engineers and other professionals in energy-related fields. The EI was formed in 2003 by the merger of the Institute of Petroleum (dating back to 1913) and the Institute of Energy (d ...

* Fellow of the

Royal Institute of Chemistry The Royal Institute of Chemistry was a British scientific organisation. Founded in 1877 as the Institute of Chemistry of Great Britain and Ireland (ICGBI), its role was to focus on qualifications and the professional status of chemists, and its aim ...

* Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts *

(1954) * Hon. DSc, University of Wales (1957)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Idris 1900 births 1971 deaths Llanelli RFC players London Welsh RFC players Barbarian F.C. players Wales rugby union captains Rugby union players from Llanelli Cambridge University R.U.F.C. players Aberystwyth Old Students' Association Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Welsh chemists Rugby union flankers Wales international rugby union players