Sir Wynn Normington Hugh-Jones, LVO, (1 November 1923 – 5 July 2019), sometimes known as Sir Hugh Jones, was a British diplomat, administrator and

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

official. Hugh-Jones was born at

Llangollen Llangollen () is a town and community, situated on the River Dee, in Denbighshire, Wales. Its riverside location forms the edge of the Berwyn range, and the Dee Valley section of the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beau ...

in north Wales where his father was Headmaster of the County School. He was educated at

Ludlow Grammar School Ludlow () is a market town in Shropshire, England. The town is significant in the history of the Welsh Marches and in relation to Wales. It is located south of Shrewsbury and north of Hereford, on the A49 road which bypasses the town. The ...

and went up to

Selwyn College, Cambridge Selwyn College, Cambridge (formally Selwyn College in the University of Cambridge) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1882 by the Selwyn Memorial Committee in memory of George Augustus Selwyn (18 ...

in 1941 where he got his degree in natural sciences in just two years. During the rest of

Second World War 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 opposin ...

he served as a Signals Officer 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) and ...

. He returned after the war to complete a second degree at Cambridge, in history. Jones entered the

Diplomatic Service Diplomatic service is the body of diplomats and foreign policy officers maintained by the government of a country to communicate with the governments of other countries. Diplomatic personnel obtains diplomatic immunity when they are accredited to ...

in 1947 and served in various overseas and London postings until 1971 when he was seconded first to the Lord President's Office and then the

Cabinet Office The Cabinet Office is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for supporting the prime minister and Cabinet. It is composed of various units that support Cabinet committees and which co-ordinate the delivery of government objecti ...

to assist in the Great Debate which preceded the United Kingdom's entry to the

European Economic Community The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organization created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisb ...

and to help steer the European Communities Bill through Parliament. He left government service in 1973 to become the Director General of the

English Speaking Union The English-Speaking Union (ESU) is an international educational membership organistation. Founded by the journalist Sir Evelyn Wrench in 1918, it aims to bring together and empower people of different languages and cultures, by building skill ...

(ESU). Jones' father had been a Liberal and his political sympathies were always towards the Liberal Party, although as a public servant or ESU administrator he could not participate in national political activity. However, in 1977 he was appointed Secretary General of the Liberal Party and served in this post until 1983. From 1984-87 he was Joint Honorary Treasurer of the party. He steered the party through the period of the

Lib-Lab Pact The Liberal–Labour movement refers to the practice of local Liberal associations accepting and supporting candidates who were financially maintained by trade unions. These candidates stood for the British Parliament with the aim of representing ...

(1977–78) under the leadership of

David Steel David Martin Scott Steel, Baron Steel of Aikwood, (born 31 March 1938) is a British politician. Elected as Member of Parliament for Roxburgh, Selkirk, and Peebles, followed by Tweeddale, Ettrick, and Lauderdale, he served as the final leade ...

and during the formation of the Alliance with the newly founded

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties For ...

, playing a key role in the seats' negotiations which so bedevilled the parties. Financially the late 1970s and early 1980s were difficult for the Liberal Party. Jones was forced to describe the party's position as being on a knife edge so he must have taken the Treasurer's post with misgivings in 1984. Having been appointed a

Member of the Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, or ...

MVO ''(LVO from 1985)'' in 1961, he was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

for political and public service in the

1984 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1984 were appointments by most of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and honorary ones to citizens of other countrie ...

List. After retirement Sir Hugh, as a resident of

Avebury Avebury () is a Neolithic henge monument containing three stone circles, around the village of Avebury in Wiltshire, in southwest England. One of the best known prehistoric sites in Britain, it contains the largest megalithic stone circle in t ...

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

became chairman of the Avebury in Danger campaign (now the Avebury Society) which fought to preserve Avebury as a

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

and living village. He also undertook lecture tours of the United States on east-west relations and other international and political questions. He separated from his first wife, Ann with whom he had three children and later married Oswynne Jordan. Jones published the first volume of his autobiography, ''Diplomacy to Politics by way of the Jungle'' in 2002 and the second ''Campaigning Face to Face'' in 2007. He died in July 2019 at the age of 95.Golf club flag flies at half mast in tribute to Sir Wynn
/ref>

References

Interview with Malcolm McBain, 2005
*''Campaigning Face to Face'', Book Guild Publishing, Brighton, 2007 {{DEFAULTSORT:Hugh-Jones, Wynn 1923 births 2019 deaths British diplomats Knights Bachelor Liberal Party (UK) politicians People from Llangollen Royal Air Force personnel of World War II Royal Air Force officers