|
THE WELSH
SECONDARY SCHOOLS REVIEW.
RETIREMENT OF
MR. EDGAR JONES.
Return to Index Major
Edgar Jones
The retirement of Mr. Edgar Jones from active membership
of i:he Association was signalised by several eminently sincere and
impressive tributes paid to his personality and work at the close of the
November Meeting. Mr. Edgar Jones was one of the original members of the
Association, and was present at its first meeting, and it may safely be
said that no one has done more than he to bring the Association to its
present state of efficiency and influence. When the question of its
formation was first mooted he realised at once the important service
that such a body might render to Welsh Education in an advisory
capacity. He accordingly gave his hearty support to the scheme, and took
a very active part: in forming the Association. In the frequent
discussions which took place in the early years of its history, Mr.
Edgar Jones was a welcome contributor, and his sound judgment, his
ability to think and speak clearly, as well as his readiness and
courtesy in debate soon marked him out for leadership.
Possessed and enthused by his high educational ideals,
which he advocated persistently and persuasively, it was natural that he
should have much influence in forming and directing the policy of the
Association.
Mr. Edgar Jones’s outstanding gifts soon came to be
recognised for in 1897 he was elected to a seat on the first Central
Welsh Board, an honour which he has retained, except for the War period
1915-1919, to the present day.
In this capacity his wise counsel has proved of great
service to the cause of Welsh Education. His speech on School Leaving
Certificates at the first meeting of the Board was said to have largely
influenced the character of the Central Welsh Board Certificates, and
the assessment of the fees. Mr. Edgar Jones also fought strenuously for
the "Freedom of Curriculum" and the extension of the range of
Matriculation subjects, when Latin was made non-compulsory and
Geography, Art and Music included.
In 1910, when a comparatively young man, Mr. Edgar Jones
was elected President of the Association in recognition of his valuable
services. He certainly merited the honour, and he carried it with his
customary grace and distinction. His valedictory address was entitled,
" A Reply to Board of Education Criticisms of
the Welsh County Schools." The President’s dignified reply was a
trenchant and convincing vindication of the Schools, and so great was
the impression made by the address that the Association had it printed
and circulated.
No estimate of Mr. Edgar Jones would be complete,
however, which did not take into account the wonderful charm of his
personality. It was truly said that he has a ‘
genius ‘ for friendship. His genial, inspiring
presence, as well as his wisdom in counsel have always been valuable
assets to the Association, and his potent personality will be greatly
missed. The following are the main facts of his interesting career.
Mr. Edgar Jones was born on December 13th, 1868, in
Llanrhaiadr-yn-Mochnant, a picturesque Montgomeryshire village at the
foot of the Berwyn, where Bishop Morgan, the first translator of the
Welsh Bible, was at one time Vicar of the parish. Young Edgar was
brought up in the cultured and religious atmosphere of the home, and had
the further advantage of receiving his early education at his father’s
school. Later he came under the inspiration, first as pupil and
afterwards as assistant, of Owen Owen, whose services to Wales both as
schoolmaster and first Chief Inspector of the Central Welsh Board have
not yet been adequately recognised. The list of old pupils of the Old
Oswestry High School who have made their mark deeply on Welsh life
during the last forty years is a striking tribute to his
self-sacrificing labours and to the quiet influence of a great
schoolmaster.
Towards the end of last century the imagination of Welsh
youth was fired and its ambition stimulated by the remarkable success
achieved by young Welshmen like Tom Ellis, T. F. Roberts, O. M. Edwards
and Ellis Griffith at the old Universities, and promising boys began to
enter the University Colleges in greater numbers.
|