In Memoriam: David Jones, 1923-2023

By Andrew Medworth, Hendon Club Captain

Friday 26 May, 2023

We are saddened to learn that David Le Brun Jones passed away on 18th May, six months short of his 100th birthday.

David served as our chairman from 2008 to 2013, and the trophy awarded for winning the rating prize in our Club Championship is named after him. David won it the first time it was awarded, in his final tournament as chairman.

In addition to his contributions to Hendon Chess Club, David attended Trinity College, Oxford, playing in the unofficial Varsity match of 1942. His education was interrupted by World War II: he was a code-breaker at Bletchley Park working on breaking Japanese codes from 1943 until 1945. After the war he returned to Oxford to finish his degree, competing in the Varsity matches of 1946 and 1947. He went on to have a distinguished career as a civil servant.

Thanks to John Saunders for this entry on David in his “BritBase”, from which much of the above information is taken.

Unfortunately, I did not personally have the opportunity to meet David, but I can tell from the fondness with which others speak of him that he was a delightful man. May he rest in peace.