Obituary For O.T. Jones

Oswald Thomas Jones who died on 18th November at the age of 94, was the first Headmaster of Richard Challoner School, New Malden. Together with his Deputy Frank Gosling, Mr Jones gave the school its defining characteristics and laid the foundation for its future success.

Oswald Thomas Jones was born 22nd June 1917 in Newport, Wales, the youngest of three boys whose father was a railway inspector. After completing his teacher training in Bangor with Distinction, the war years brought him great sadness as well as much joy. Oswald's elder brother, Stan was taken a prisoner of war, and was later killed, as were some of his closest friends. Himself unable to join the forces for reasons of health, Oswald began teaching, while serving as an Air Raid Warden and later with 'Dad's Army' at a coastal anti-aircraft site. It was during the war years that he met his wife Lucy, who he married in 1942. After further studies and a stint of teacher-training, Oswald became Head of Fr. Hill Secondary School for Boys, Newport, in 1951. He also served as Vice-President of the Welsh Federation of Head Teachers. In 1959, Oswald was appointed Head of Richard Challoner, a brand new secondary modern school in Surrey.

Fifty years later, although unable to attend the school's Golden Jubilee celebrations personally, the 92 year-old founder Head paid tribute to "so many boys and teachers of the early years who turned an empty building into a vibrant community." Now with considerably enlarged and fully-occupied buildings, the vibrant community whose early growth and development he had likened to that of a child, had grown to full maturity. Mr Jones was represented by his daughter Marolyn, who had, as a child, been tasked with colouring the design of the new school's badge. The Golden Jubilee Organising Committee included three of the school's first students: Brian Keegan, Chris Drayson and Kevin Evans. Hundreds of past pupils gathered in the school hall for the main celebration in September 2009 – some from as far away as Australia - watching and listening in awe as Mr Jones addressed them via a pre-recorded video, and later in a live telephone message.

From the same stage in the school hall Mr Jones had charted the school's development and expounded his vision of education in eighteen speeches delivered at the Annual Review and Prizegiving ceremonies as Head of Richard Challoner. Even before his retirement, the speeches had become legendary among the teaching staff. Lines from previous years were remembered and passed on, and teachers wondered which analogy Mr Jones would use to describe boys at Richard Challoner. Would they be ripe or green tomatoes, lights on a stage or books in a library? Which pithy but brilliant phrase this year would match the previous years? Parents too could expect to be entertained by Mr Jones's wit ("The disco kid seldom makes academic records" he said in 1972), and be challenged by his counter-cultural sagacity ("Guinness may be good for you but it may cause your son to froth at the mouth"). Their influence also extended beyond the confines of the School Hall. Extracts were quoted in local newspapers, and in 1968, a phrase from Mr Jones's speech of that year made the Sunday Times Quote of the Week: "I feel that we will have attained a great deal if we have succeeded in producing men who are dignified in dungarees."

Mr Jones's vision of Christian education focused on the value of the whole person, not just their academic ability. His had a keen appreciation for the need to educate for modernity and embrace technological change, while holding dear values which had stood the test of time. Schools, he was sure, could supplement but never supplant parental influence, while in collaboration they could ensure that education itself became a call to serve others and not just oneself, and to seek true freedom and happiness in harmony with God and neighbour. The many messages of sympathy and eulogy that have come in to the school from past pupils this week show how much Mr Jones practiced what he preached. Mr Jones was a shrewd judge of character and had a great gift for offering timely advice which often proved decisive; either by offering the 'wayward' a second chance, or opening a boy’s eyes to a suitable career path.

In retirement from 1977, Mr Jones filled the space left by school with travel, an interest in antiques and history, and above all, his family. Oswald was a very private person whose contentment with silence was for some rather unnerving. At the same time, he had an uncanny ability to conjure a crafted speech for any occasion, and found in poetry, a way to express his innermost thoughts and emotions. From childhood, he had developed a flair for writing, and he had won prizes for poetry at college and the Eisteddfod. In retirement, Oswald again took up the pen, and his poetry charts his travels, family celebrations and anniversaries, as well as personal experiences and responses to world events.

Two years before his death, Mr Jones's literary talents – the texts of his speeches as Head, and his retirement poems - were brought together in a book published to mark the school's Golden Jubilee: A Head of His Time. Illustrations from his school era and from family life, combine to complete our picture of the man, public and private. For his family and for everyone connected with the school, A Head of His Time is a precious record of Oswald Jones's talents as educator and wordsmith; his distilled wisdom, deep faith, and dry humour; and an eloquent testimony to his loving devotion to his family and friends.

Oswald Jones was the founder of two 'vibrant communities' - his family and his school – and both gathered at his funeral in Edinburgh last Friday. While each now mourn his loss, their shared faith, and affection and esteem for Oswald Thomas Jones, brings them closely together.

A memorial Mass for Mr Jones will be held at the school in the New Year.

C J Doran
Director of Sixth Form Studies