David Jones - All Rounder

& President of the Golf Club

The next person we are going to invite to speak a few words is David Jones, an all rounder. Now, David were you born in Rushden?
Yes, Bedford Road.
Bedford Road in Rushden and you've lived there all your life?
All my life, yes.
What are your first recollections of being a sportsman and getting involved in sport?
I suppose playing for the Southend football team, the boys the under elevens football team.
Under elevens?
Yes, that's right that was the first time and obviously then I graduated to the boys' school where I played rugby and cricket for the boys' school.
Who was the sports master there at the time?
Jenkins, Ron Jenkins but Bert Catlin was there and obviously Jack Wills, who was headmaster and he was president, first president of Rushden Rugby Football Club.
And he was a pretty good player too wasn't he?
Yes I've played with Bert, Bert was quite a bit older than myself but he was still playing when I started.
Big man, was he second row?
Second row yes he didn't move very quick but he knew what to do.
So in your sports career as it were of all the sports you've played which one did you really prefer the most?
Rugby.
Rugby, now why was that?
I think it was the team spirit really and I played in the old days when you played rugby hard and you drank hard and you sung hard.
So, would you like to give us a song now then?
I don't think I could, I don't think I would, no only with a pint inside.
I know, I used to play for Colworth and occasionally played you.
Well, we were always a good singing side, Rushden when I first played we met at the Green Dragon in Higham Ferrers and in those days they had a pint before they started and obviously nowadays in the later part I always captained the set about 64 ????? and we even started training in those days so drinking before the game was stopped.
All part of the ceremony.
That's right, yes.
Is there anyone in your life who's actually been very important in encouraging you to go on and do sport?
Yes, Jack Wills, the headmaster of the boys' school. He was the chap who pointed me to Colworth to go as an apprentice bricklayer and from then on he was always very keen on my sports. In fact I played cricket with him for many years, The Risdenians which was a cricket team of old boys and the masters of the boys' school and obviously I was very involved with him with rugby up until he died.
Now, rugby in the winter what did you do in the summer?
Golf, I joined the golf club in 1964 and I also played tennis for Rushden.
Tell me more about the tennis, how did you get involved with that?
Well, I think, my father was very involved with John White's sports field, I mean father was Charlie Jones and most people knew him as an entertainer more than a sportsman but he was a keen sportsman and as a lad I always used to go to John White's sports field and tennis was the first game we played. I started there and then when I got to about sixteen or seventeen I decided I was going to join a club and Rushden was the club I joined.
You must have shown a bit of promise then?
Yes I think so, I was reasonably natural with a ball, I could hit a ball I could catch a ball with both hands. I think if anyone can catch a ball they can hit one.
Good co-ordination?
Yes, that's right so I played there for a few years and then Rushden folded and then obviously I joined the golf club when I was twenty four so I concentrated on golf in the summer and rugby in the winter although I was playing cricket on the Sundays as well.
So which is your golf club?
Rushden Golf Club at Chelveston.
How does that rate as a course?
Excellent. Yes, it's a ten hole course par 71 so obviously we have to go round twice and our biggest problem is limited membership because of that and we're always short of money but the course itself is in excellent condition and the greens in summer are marvellous.
A lot of hills and valleys there?
We have a few, yes. The main feature is the brook that runs through the course and everything falls to the brook so at the first it bounces to the brook and the second, so that's a lovely feature but I will say this that for many, for at least ten to fifteen years the brook had no water in but of late it's been full, overflowing on a regular basis.
So it's got a few balls in the bottom?
Exactly right and we have had one problem this week which is quite unique, we've had two carrion crows that have been stealing balls and we reckon we've lost over a hundred balls in the last three months.
You'll have a job to get back those.
Well, they think they're eggs they're dropping them, they've been watched dropping them from a height but we were talking to the farmer who owns the field and he's picked up about half a bucketful of golf balls so he thought people were hitting balls over for practice but they weren't the carrion crows were taking them over and dropping them in the field.
Oh dear. Now we 've talked about rugby and tennis are there any other sports you've been involved with?
I've played squash for many years and I still go skiing every year.
Squash is a very ........
Yes, I packed up when I was thirty eight. I did my cartilage playing rugby and that finished my squash career as well because it's very physical on the ankles and knees so I packed it up.
Are there any particular personalities that you remember?
Mike Dilley, the cricketer. I knew Mike well, I didn't play cricket with him but I played a lot of golf with him and some of the older members of the club when I joined, we had, at Rushden we had Jim Sharp and Ray Kilsby who were county golfers and in those days you know you had to be good, even though you do now but they are the people I remember as golfers.
Were they pros?
No they weren't, they were amateurs but they played for the county. I don't know really, I can't think. There's obviously lots of people I've known over the years, lots of characters.
And I daresay sports has brought you a lot of contact with many players?
Well, I see the people I played rugby with thirty years ago, I still meet them on a fairly regular basis, I'm in one of the local lodges and Long Buckby and Towcester and Daventry, a lot of the rugby players join so I'm seeing people I've played sport against thirty years ago which is fine, perhaps once a year.
So sport really has been not just a big interest for you but a pleasure as well?
Well, I think so yes I've always been an active sportsman I can never sit still, I'm always doing something, I'm skiing in four weeks time; I took up snow skiing when I was forty two and I've been ever since, great sport.
Well, I hope you enjoy it and I hope you come back with no broken legs.
Thank you.
Well, thank you very much indeed for sharing all your memories with us.

Sports Personalities Interviewed 2003