P. L. Jones
1947 Bio Note. [1]
Mr. JONES, after graduating in the University of Wales in 1909, was for some years an assistant lecturer at Liverpool University. He joined the Technical Staff of Metropolitan-Vickers Electrical Company, Ltd., in 1912, and was appointed technical manager of Swan, Hunter, and Wigham Richardson, Ltd., Neptune Works, in 1922. He is now general manager of these works and in charge of all the engineering activities of the firm.
He is also a director of Wallsend Slipway and Engineering Company, Ltd.
1960 Bio Note. [2]
AT AN ORDINARY MEETING of the Institution, on 26th October, Mr H. Desmond Carter, immediate Past-President, read a citation in respect of Mr P. L. Jones, the newest Honorary Member of the Institution. He said that Mr Jones had been given a great distinction which was accorded to very, very few people. In the Honorary Members' Book there were, perhaps, half a dozen names per page, and some twenty pages were occupied. It was the highest honour the Institution could bestow.
Mr Carter reminded the meeting that Mr P. L. Jones was a Past-President of the Institution and that it was now 45 years since he had become an Associate Member. He then gave a brief outline of Mr Jones' background. Mr Jones had been educated at Taunton School and served his apprenticeship at the Locomotive Works of the Rhymney Railway Company, near Cardiff. He then went to University College, Cardiff. After two years as an assistant lecturer at Liverpool University, he joined the technical staff of the Chief Mechanical Engineer of the Metropolitan-Vickers Electrical Company.
In 1923 Mr Jones was invited to join Swan, Hunter, and Wigham Richardson as Technical Manager of their Engineering Department. Later he had become General Manager and then Managing Director of this department. He was now a Director of Swan, Hunter, and Wigham Richardson, and also of the associated firm, the Wallsend Slipway and Engineering Company. Mr Carter added that Mr Jones was a recognized authority on marine design.
Mr Carter next traced Mr Jones' service to the Institution, as Chairman of the North Eastern Branch from 1939 to 1941, and then as a Member of Council in 1942, Vice-President in 1950, and President in 1955. In addition he had delivered the tenth Thomas Lowe Gray Lecture in 1938. Mr Jones had also had a distinguished record of service to kindred societies, said Mr Carter. He was a Past-President of the North-East Coast Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders, Past-Chairman of the National Association of Marine Engine-builders, and a Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers, of the Institute of Marine Engineers, of the American Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers, and of Lloyd's Technical Committee.
These were just a few highlights, said Mr Carter. However, Mr Jones had achieved another distinction, he was already an Honorary Member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers—they had beaten us to it. But the reason for this was that Mr P. L. Jones had only just left the Council according to the rule of the Institution that Past-Presidents retire from Council after five years.
Mr Jones visited the U.S.A. during his year of office, representing the Institution and, indeed, Great Britain, at the Joint Conference on Combustion. The Americans had honoured him on this occasion.
After telling a story about this American visit which illustrated 'Major' P. L. Jones' reluctance to use his military rank, Mr Carter related how he had joined H.M. Forces at the beginning of the 1914-18 war and won the Military Cross with bar. He went on to remark that the new Honorary Member's cheerfulness and buoyancy had increased, if possible, with age, in sharp distinction to the normal trend. Finally, Mr Carter said that the citation would be incomplete without a mention of Mrs Jones who, as the President's lady, had brought to the office a wonderful radiance and charm.
1966 Obituary [3]
"Mr P. L. Jones, MC, WhEx (Member), a Past-President of the Institution, died on Saturday, 11th June.
After taking his BSc at Cardiff University, he was appointed an Assistant Lecturer at Liverpool University and, two years later he joined the technical staff of the old 'MetroVicks'. The 1914-18 war saw Mr Jones commanding a battery of artillery in France and Flanders, and in 1916 he was awarded the Military Cross.
On demobilisation he rejoined the Company where he remained until 1963. He then moved to Swan, Hunter, and Wigham Richardson as Technical Manager, finally becoming a Director of this Company and of its associated firm, the Wallsend Slipway and Engineering Co. Ltd.
A well-known figure in marine engineering and shipbuilding, Mr Jones was President of the North-East Coast Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders, Vice-Chairman of the National Association of Marine Engine builders and a member of numerous other learned societies. His service to this Institution included the Chairmanship of the North Eastern Branch from 1939 to 1941 and eight years as Member of Council before his election as Vice-President in 1950 and his Presidency in 1955. His warm and friendly personality endeared him to many members who will remember all the help and encouragement he gave them. The Institution has lost a valuable servant and a great-hearted friend."
See Also
Sources of Information
- ↑ 1947 IMechE Proceedings
- ↑ 1960 IMechE Proceedings
- ↑ 1966 Institution of Mechanical Engineers: Obituaries