Ernest William Jones

Ernest William Jones (December 1870 – 17 September 1941) was a Welsh first class cricketer and trans-European shipping magnate.

Early life and family

Ernest was born in Glamorgan in December 1870^[1] to William Matthew Jones (b.1838), a trans-European shipping magnate, owner of M. Jones and Brother, and Agnes Ida Long (1845 – 1899).^[2] He had one sibling Arthur Webb-Jones (1875 – 1917),^[3] who became an eminent gynaecologist. His cousin Edwin Price Jones (1855-1924) was Vice-Consul for Chile^[4] and Secretary to the Chamber of Commerce^[5] and his nephew Right Rev. William Wynne Jones (1900-1950), was Anglican Bishop of Central Tanganyika in Africa.^[6]

Ernest was educated at Wycliffe College, Gloucestershire. He inherited the ownership of the family shipping company, M. Jones and Brothers, from his father and served as its director throughout his life.^[7][8]

Cricket

Ernest begun his 45-year cricketing career playing for Swansea, for whom he played from 1887 to 1904. He played Minor Counties cricket for Glamorgan County Cricket Club between 1896 and 1911, playing in every single match during this period, and was a member of the Glamorgan side that won the Minor Counties Championship in 1900. He played first class cricket for South Wales between 1905 and 1909. He played for the Gentleman of Glamorgan from 1913 onwards.

Marriage

Ernest married Frenchwoman Aimée Elizabeth Parson (1873–1913) at Rouen, Seine Maritime, Haute Normandie, France, in 1901 and had one son, James William Webb-Jones (b.1904) an eminent choral conductor who was also a distinguished cricketer: James William was Captain of Cricket at Worcester College, Oxford.^[9] Ernest,^[10] his son, James William,^[11] and his cousin, Bishop William Wynne^[12] were all members of the Jesters Cricket Club and played together in the 1931 side. Peter Lyons, the husband of Ernest’s granddaughter, Bridget, was a member of the Marylebone Cricket Club.^[13]

References