James William Webb-Jones (1904 – 1965) was a
Welsh choral conductor, educator, and cricketer.
Family and Early Life
James William, who was born in
Cowbridge, Glamorgan, Wales,
was the only child of the
trans-European steamship agent Ernest William Jones (1870 – 1941),
who was the owner of M. Jones and Brothers (est. 1856)
and who was a first-class cricketer.
James William's mother was Aimée Elizabeth Parson (1873 – 1913),
who was the
French-born daughter of James Holmes Parson who was a British
merchant banker
A merchant bank is historically a bank dealing in commercial loans and investment. In modern British usage it is the same as an investment bank. Merchant banks were the first modern banks and evolved from medieval merchants who traded in commodi ...
in
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
.
James William's parents were married at the
British Consulate in
Rouen, Haute Normandie, on 10 September 1900.
James William's uncles included the gynaecologist
Arthur Webb-Jones, and Edwin Price Jones, who was
Vice-Consul for Chile and Secretary to the Chamber of Commerce.
James William was (through his cousin
William (Bill) Wynn Jones who was
Anglican Bishop of Central Tanganyika)
a cousin of the
National Party conservative Naomi Wilson OAM (b. 1940).
James William descended (through his mother Aimée Parson) from the
Georgian property-developer James Burton
James Edward Burton (born August 21, 1939, in Dubberly, Louisiana) is an American guitarist. A member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame since 2001 (his induction speech was given by longtime fan Keith Richards), Burton has also been recognized ...
, who was the father of the architect
Decimus Burton.
Education
James William was educated at
Cranleigh School
Cranleigh School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school) in the village of Cranleigh, Surrey.
History
It was opened on 29 September 1865 as a boys' school 'to provide a sound and plain education, on the principles o ...
,
for which he played cricket,
and at
Worcester College, Oxford,
where he was Captain of Cricket.
He later attended the
University of Grenoble
The Université Grenoble Alpes (UGA, French: meaning "''Grenoble Alps University''") is a public research university in Grenoble, France. Founded in 1339, it is the third largest university in France with about 60,000 students and over 3,000 resea ...
in
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
,
where he received the Diplôme de Hautes Études.
James William's father
Ernest
Ernest is a given name derived from Germanic word ''ernst'', meaning "serious". Notable people and fictional characters with the name include:
People
* Archduke Ernest of Austria (1553–1595), son of Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor
* Ernest, ...
, and his cousin
William
William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...
, and his son-in-law
Peter
Peter may refer to:
People
* List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name
* Peter (given name)
** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church
* Peter (surname), a sur ...
, were members of the Jesters Cricket Club,
which was founded in 1928 by John 'Jock' Forbes Burnet (1910 - 1980) of
St. Paul's School, London.
James William played for the Jesters, alongside his father, against the
Eton College
Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, ...
Servants, in 1931, and, alongside his cousin William, against
Chertsey
Chertsey is a town in the Borough of Runnymede, Surrey, England, south-west of central London. It grew up round Chertsey Abbey, founded in 666 CE, and gained a market charter from Henry I. A bridge across the River Thames first appeared in t ...
, also in 1931.
Career
* Assistant Headmaster of
St George's School, Windsor Castle, from 1928 to 1934.
[
*Headmaster of St George's School, Windsor Castle, from 1934 to 1942.][
*He left St George's School in 1942, to serve in the ]Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...
during World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, from 1942 to 1945.
* Housemaster, Wellington School, Somerset
Wellington School is a co-educational independent day and boarding school in the English public school tradition for pupils aged 3–18 located in Wellington, Somerset, England. Wellington School was founded in 1837.
Wellington School is a r ...
, from 1945 to 1950.[
* Headmaster of Vanbrugh Castle School from 1951 to 1955.][
* Headmaster of ]Wells Cathedral School
Wells Cathedral School is a co-educational independent school located in Wells, Somerset, England. The school is one of the five specialist musical schools for school-age children in the United Kingdom, along with Chetham's School of Music, th ...
from 1955 to 1964,[ where Peter Stanley Lyons was Director of Music from 1954 to 1960.]
Marriage
James William married, at the Parish Church, Windsor, on 20 December 1930,[ Barbara Bindon] Moody (1903 - 1973), of Emperor's Gate, South Kensington, who was the daughter of Colonel Richard Stanley Hawks Moody CB and the granddaughter of Major-General Richard Clement Moody (who was the founder and the first Lieutenant-Governor of British Columbia). James Webb-Jones and Barbara Moody had only one child, Bridget (b. 5 September 1937), who married the chorister Peter Stanley Lyons at Wells Cathedral
Wells Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Wells, Somerset, England, dedicated to St Andrew the Apostle. It is the seat of the Bishop of Bath and Wells, whose cathedra it holds as mother church of the Diocese of Bath and Wells. Built as a ...
in 1957.[Lyons, Peter Stanley, ''The Eagle'', St John's College, Cambridge, December 2006] The godmother of Bridget Webb-Jones was Lady Walford Davies, who was the wife of the composer Sir Henry Walford Davies
Sir Henry Walford Davies (6 September 1869 – 11 March 1941) was an English composer, organist, and educator who held the title Master of the King's Music from 1934 until 1941. He served with the Royal Air Force during the First World War, dur ...
KCVO OBE, who had been Master of the King's Music
Master of the King's Music (or Master of the Queen's Music, or earlier Master of the King's Musick) is a post in the Royal Household of the United Kingdom. The holder of the post originally served the monarch of England, directing the court orche ...
at St George's Chapel, Windsor
St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle in England is a castle chapel built in the late-medieval Perpendicular Gothic style. It is both a Royal Peculiar (a church under the direct jurisdiction of the monarch) and the Chapel of the Order of the Gart ...
, when James Webb-Jones had been Headmaster of St George's School, Windsor Castle. Lady Walford Davies later married Julian Harold Legge Lambart, who was Vice-Provost of Eton College
Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, ...
, for which Witham Hall School became a preparatory school.[Peter and Bridget Lyons and Witham Hall, Lincoln, Rutland & Stamford Mercury, Friday, 8 February 1985][Tatler, Guides, Schools Guide 2014, Prep, Witham Hall School]
Retirement and Death
James William and his wife, Barbara, retired to Witham Hall,[ where his son-in-law Peter Stanley Lyons was Headmaster of the School.][ Webb-Jones's hobbies were cricket, and fives, and fishing,] and wine.[ Webb-Jones kept a wine store in the basement of Vanbrugh Castle,] and died, possibly as a consequence of alcoholism
Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomi ...
,[ at Witham Hall in 1965, and is buried at The Church of St. Andrew, Witham on the Hill.] His wife lived at Witham Hall until her death in 1973, after which she was buried next to her husband.
Further reading
*
*
*
*
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Webb-Jones, James William
People educated at Cranleigh School
Alumni of Worcester College, Oxford
Grenoble Alpes University alumni
Royal Air Force personnel of World War II
English choral conductors
British male conductors (music)
People from Cowbridge
Cricketers from the Vale of Glamorgan
Welsh cricketers
1904 births
1965 deaths
20th-century British conductors (music)