Thomas Ellis Jones-Davies (4 March 1906 – 25 August 1960) was a Welsh physician 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 its m ...

centre. He played club rugby for

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, Carmarthen. ...

and London Welsh. He won four caps for

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 ...

and was a member of Doug Prentice's British Lions in their tour of New Zealand and Australia in 1930.

Personal history

Jones-Davies was born in Nantgaredig, Carmarthen to agricultural co-operative pioneer Henry Jones-DaviesJONES-DAVIES, HENRY (1870 - 1955)
''Dictionary of Welsh Biography''. and Winifred Anna Ellis. He was educated at

Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Carmarthen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

and

St George's School, Harpenden (Aim Higher) , established = 1907 , type = AcademyDay and boarding school , religious_affiliation = Christian , head_label = Headteacher , head = Helen Barton , r_head_label = , r_head = Stephen Warner ...

before gaining a place 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 th ...

and

St George's Hospital St George's Hospital is a large teaching hospital in Tooting, London. Founded in 1733, it is one of the UK's largest teaching hospitals and one of the largest hospitals in Europe. It is run by the St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundatio ...

, London. He married in 1938 Nesta, the daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Hector Jones, Maesteg; they had one son, Colonel T.E. Jones-Davies. He was appointed High Sheriff of Carmarthenshire in 1952.

Medical career

After gaining his medical qualifications he served as an assistant medical officer in London before becoming the Medical Officer for Health for

Radnorshire , HQ = Presteigne , Government = Radnorshire County Council (1889–1974) Radnorshire District Council (1974–1996) , Origin = , Status = historic county, administrative county , Start ...

in 1938. During World War II he served as an officer in the Royal Army Medical Corps. After the war he was appointed a consultant physician at the West Wales Hospital, Carmarthen, a position he held for ten years until his death.

Rugby career

Jones-Davies was first selected to play for the Welsh national team in the country's opening game of the

1930 Five Nations Championship The 1930 Five Nations Championship was the sixteenth series of the rugby union Five Nations Championship following the inclusion of France into the Home Nations Championship. Including the previous Home Nations Championships, this was the forty-th ...

while team captain of London Welsh. Played at the Cardiff Arms Park in a match against England, Jones-Davies was one of four new Welsh caps in the squad; Hickman of

Neath Neath (; cy, Castell-nedd) is a market town and Community (Wales), community situated in the Neath Port Talbot, Neath Port Talbot County Borough, Wales. The town had a population of 50,658 in 2011. The community of the parish of Neath had a po ...

, Ocker Thomas of

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 ...

and fellow London Welsh player

David Edward Roberts David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

. Wales lost the match 11–3, Jones-Davies scoring the three Welsh points with a

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 ...

. Jones-Davies was not selected for the away game to Scotland, but was back in the team to face the Irish at St. Helen's ground in

Swansea Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe). The city is the twenty-fifth largest in ...

. Playing alongside London Welsh stalwart

Wick Powell Wick most often refers to: * Capillary action ("wicking") ** Candle wick, the cord used in a candle or oil lamp ** Solder wick, a copper-braided wire used to desolder electronic contacts Wick or WICK may also refer to: Places and placename ...

, Jones-Davies finished on the winning side as Wales beat Ireland, robbing them of the Triple Crown. Jones-Davies played two more games for Wales, both as part of the

1931 Five Nations Championship The 1931 Five Nations Championship was the seventeenth series of the rugby union Five Nations Championship following the inclusion of France into the Home Nations Championship. Including the previous Home Nations Championships, this was the forty- ...

. Under the captaincy of Penarth's

Jack Bassett Jack Bassett (11 July 1905 – 19 February 1989) was a Welsh international rugby union full back who played club rugby for Penarth. He won 15 caps for Wales and was selected for the 1930 British Lions tour of Australia and New Zealand. He ca ...

, Jones-Davies was a member of the Welsh team that drew with England at

Twickenham Twickenham is a suburban district in London, England. It is situated on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames since 1965, and the boroug ...

and beat Scotland at the Arms Park. Jones-Davies scored one of the tries in the England game, and after Wales won the last two games of the tournament he found himself part of a Championship winning team. In 1930 Jones-Davies was selected for the British Lions tour of Australia and New Zealand. Jones-Davies was one of seven Welsh players chosen to represent the Lions on the tour, but unlike his countrymen he did not play in any of the five test games.

International matches played

Wales * 1930, 1931 * 1930 * 1931

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones-Davies, Tommy 1906 births 1960 deaths 20th-century Welsh medical doctors Alumni of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Alumni of St George's, University of London Barbarian F.C. players British & Irish Lions rugby union players from Wales British Army personnel of World War II High Sheriffs of Carmarthenshire Llanelli RFC players London Welsh RFC players People educated at Queen Elizabeth High School, Carmarthen Royal Army Medical Corps officers Rugby union centres Rugby union players from Carmarthenshire Wales international rugby union players Welsh rugby union players