Walter Idris Jones

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

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

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

player. He captained the

Wales national rugby union team The Wales national rugby union team () represents the Welsh Rugby Union in men's international rugby union. Its governing body, the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU), was established in 1881, the same year that Wales played their first international agai ...

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

Llanelli RFC Llanelli Rugby Football Club () 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 Pemberton. The club song is " ...

Private life and education

Jones was born in

Llanelli ; ) is a market town and community (Wales), community in Carmarthenshire and the Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county of Dyfed, Wales. It is on the estuary of the River Loughor and is the largest town in the Principal areas of Wales, ...

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 Aberystwyth University () is a Public university, public Research university, research university in Aberystwyth, Wales. Aberystwyth was a founding member institution of the former federal University of Wales. The university has over 8,000 stude ...

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

Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Gonville and Caius College, commonly known as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348 by Edmund Gonville, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and ...

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

Llandaff Llandaff (; ; 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 the Bisho ...

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, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

(1923–1925). He played for

London Welsh London Welsh Rugby Football Club () 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 seasons, after gaining promotion from ...

and

and for the

Barbarians A barbarian is a person or tribe of people that is perceived to be primitive, savage and warlike. Many cultures have referred to other cultures as barbarians, sometimes out of misunderstanding and sometimes out of prejudice. A "barbarian" may ...

invitation team. He made four appearances for Wales in 1924 and 1925, scoring one try, 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 Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) was a British Chemical industry, chemical company. It was, for much of its history, the largest manufacturer in Britain. Its headquarters were at Millbank in London. ICI was listed on the London Stock Exchange ...

Billingham Billingham is a List of towns in England, town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in County Durham, England. The town is on the north side of the River Tees and is governed as part of the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees unitary authority ...

, 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 ''RMS Scythia, Scythia'' made a round- ...

. 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, 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 (), 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 10,000 Members and 100,000 Associate Members w ...

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 * 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 ai ...

* Fellow of the

Royal Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, commonly known as the Royal Society of Arts (RSA), is a learned society that champions innovation and progress across a multitude of sectors by fostering creativity, s ...

(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 Welsh rugby union players