Eulogy for former Collegiate master Gwyn Jones

Received:  January 2023

From:     Wayne Jones

I would firstly like to thank everyone here today who has taken time to come and show their respects to our Dad, to Taid, to Gwyn and to Alf, as some knew him when he was growing up in Colwyn Bay.

Our Dad was born Gwynfor Atlay Jones to Caradoc Ivor Jones or ‘CI’ as he preferred to be called and Gwendoline Atlay Jones in Colwyn Bay on 25 March 1942. Dad also had a younger brother, Merv, who sadly passed away in 2006 from complications with his MS.

They were inseparable as boys and lived and grew up in Coed Coch Road and then Smith Avenue in Colwyn Bay and Dad attended Colwyn Bay Grammar School where he met our mum, Barbara. After 6^th form, Dad went to Loughborough University where he studied Physical Education and Geography.

Straight from University, he started his first teaching post at Toxteth High in September 1964. In the following December mum and dad married and a year later in November 1966 I was born. It was whilst at Toxteth that my dad chose his football allegiance. Was it the blue of Merseyside or the red of Merseyside. Well at the time the two top teams in the country were Liverpool and Leeds United and rivalry between the two on and off the football pitch was massive. With so many Liverpool fans (both pupils and staff) at the school he made the obvious choice and chose Leeds and became a lifelong Leeds United fan. That was typically our dad!

In January 1969 dad moved from Toxteth High to the Collegiate and two months later mum gave birth to Kim.

Dad was at the Collegiate for 16 years and this was where he completed an Open University degree in Geology from London University. He later went on to become Head of Geography and Geology. He organised trips to Colomendy for many of the schools in Liverpool. He was also Collegiate’s coordinator for many other field trips to Colomendy, Snowdonia, the Lake District and the Pennines to name but a few. He was also responsible for running the Collegiate first XI football team for 8 years after his own playing career at Colwyn Bay and Marine had finished.

In 1985 the Collegiate amalgamated with Breckfield Comprehensive and dad continued teaching for a further 8 years until 1993 when he applied, a second time, for early retirement and this time it was granted. However, retirement didn’t last very long, it may have had something to do with the fact mum wouldn’t let him as she was still working. We always knew he wanted to go back into teaching but one month into the new school term wasn’t what we imagined.

Dad finally retired eleven years later in May 2004, following supply stints at South Wirral High School, Upton Convent and a return to Breckfield. During his teaching career he made many lifelong friends who he stayed in contact with until illness became too much and on many occasions, would meet up at various locations in the North West for an ‘old boys’ reunion over drinks and a meal and some of those friends, I’m glad to say are here today.

As we all know our dad’s hobbies and pastimes were mainly train related. He was a keen trainspotter from an early age, both with his dad and his brother Merv, but it was photography that played a key part in Dad’s life. He would spend many a day travelling along the North Wales coast, up to the Settle and Carlisle railway to photograph steam trains (in fact he’d go anywhere there was a ‘Steamer’). Kim often recalls the times when she was passenger being flung around the back of the car as Dad sped thru country lanes to get to the next photo opportunity before the train did. He would then go home and develop and print his own work in his own darkroom. The results were pretty impressive. Every photograph, every slide meticulously labelled, dated, categorised and filed away in the vacant ‘box room’.

Dad also enjoyed his quizzes as our friends will know and he also spent many years at the Bumbry Arms with his quiz buddies. Well I think it was the quiz he went for, he did enjoy a glass or two of ‘Old Rosie’ while he was there.

One of our Dad’s other enjoyments was the tireless work he did helping to restore the Llangollen Railway. COVID put a pause to that in 2020. COVID hit our dad very hard and during lockdown he lost a lot of confidence and wasn’t comfortable driving long distances to places that weren’t routine and after over 25 years of working there Dad never returned to Corwen.

But before then every Christmas and his birthdays I would do my regular trip to Screwfix to buy up the thermal and waterproof PPE to try and keep his body dry and warm during those cold winter months. Some of the stories he told the family are unrepeatable and it was evident that the work was physical and towards the end of his time there it was obviously becoming harder for Dad and although we tried to get him to take it easier, of course dad being dad wasn’t having any of it. He loved his time there and he loved the friends he made. He loved you so much that his contribution to break time was Tesco’s own ‘Value’ chocolate Digestive biscuits. I’m surprised firstly they were Digestive and secondly the were chocolate. ‘I’m not spending my money on them buggers!’ He was only joking of course!

Not happy with a teaching career, all his hobbies and pastimes, his keep fit and of course the railway he decided that Apprenticeships (at his age) were the way forward and teamed up with the local locksmith and spent a number of years driving around Wirral and Cheshire with Rob learning his trade. Something else he loved doing.

One of the proudest moments of his life was when he became ‘Taid’ to Ellie in 2003 and Imogen in 2006.

He had the pleasure, I hope, of helping Julie and myself out with childcare and the school run where he made another whole new set of friends.

Everyone who knew Dad called him Taid, anyone that didn’t, he was ‘the Grandad in the shorts’. The girls had to explain that they call him Taid because he’s their Welsh grandad, his names Gwyn.

He and the girls had hours of fun (you would be forgiven for not knowing who the adult was). He was also a huge help with their homework and especially their reading. When Julie and I got home from a long hard day at work Taid would drop Ellie and Imogen off. When he’d gone, we went straight to their reading books to see if he’d signed them. If he had it was (fist pumps). Parents with children will know what I’m talking about there! He was a huge help and the memories of course were absolutely priceless for our girls!

Dad was a very healthy person and did everything he could to ward off ill health. His diet was either raw or fresh, his shower was cold, 365 days of the year, he ran every other day, followed by 100 press ups and he cycled and walked the Wirral Way once the running became too much. He was also very conscious of mental health (it’s as if he knew) and he’d set himself challenges when he retired from teaching, he’d do crosswords, Sudoku puzzles and maths questions from the daily newspaper. We even found self-made Sudoku puzzles on the back of utility bills, envelopes, scrap pieces of paper just to keep his mind working. No blank piece of paper was safe when dad was around.

He also set himself another challenge and that was to wear shorts for 365 days of the year. We all know he managed that on a number of occasions!

Following dad’s diagnosis, he asked me when we were sat down one day (it was probably a year ago) if his Alzheimer’s could be related to years of heading the football from his playing days. I had to admit that I didn’t know but it could well have been. And it’s for this reason, we haven’t asked for flowers, but have requested that any donations are made to Sport United Against Dementia to support the research into this illness. The details are on the back page of the order of service.

Thank you.