General Sir Edward Jones; Army officer who became a Black Rod of cheerful breeziness
Hyfler/Rosner
Army officer who became a Black Rod of cheerful breeziness
The Independent
30 May 2007
Tam Dalyell
In no other case in modern times - probably ever - have a
father and son both risen so far in the military hierarchy
as to become senior generals serving on the Army Board, as
did Edward Jones and his father General Sir Charles Phibbs
Jones (affectionately called "Splosh" on account of his
allowing a bridge which he was building as a young sapper
officer to disintegrate and fall into the water).
In 1951-53, I was a National Service trooper, a tank
crewman, in the Royal Scots Greys. On a cold winter's day in
1952, we were on exercise on Luneburg Heath and General
"Splosh" Jones, GOC, 7th Armoured Division, the Desert Rats
in BAOR (British Army of the Rhine), was coming to inspect
the regiment. The four of us in our Centurion tank could not
get our gun to swivel properly; what if the Divisional
Commander and the Colonel of the Regiment Douglas Stewart
chose to come near us? But when, on the inspection, they
did, "Splosh" Jones could not have been sharper in his
questions - or nicer. What an understanding, good-hearted,
sensible, really nice guy, we said to each other, with a
sigh of relief. A similar verdict was passed on his son by
Army contemporaries, and then by members of the House of
Lords, whom Edward Jones served as Gentleman Usher of the
Black Rod and as Serjeant-at-Arms and Secretary to the Lord
Great Chamberlain, 1995-2001.
One of the minor hazards of the job of Black Rod was, at the
opening of the Parliamentary Session, after knocking
ceremoniously with his staff three times on the closed door
leading to the Commons chamber, entering and announcing that
Her Majesty doth require the Commons to attend in the House
of Lords to hear the Queen's speech, to get the bawdy,
barbed witticisms of a Member on the first row below the
gangway, Dennis Skinner. Jones, naturally gifted with a
really good sense of humour, just managed - with an effort -
to suppress a smirk, which would have been out of keeping
with such a state occasion. He had the elusive quality of a
cheerful breeziness which is such an asset in dealing with
the nation's often terribly self-important legislators.
Jones was the first Black Rod to come under the authority of
the Clerk of the Parliaments. He was lucky that the position
was then occupied by Sir Michael Wheeler-Booth, with whom he
immediately established a first-class working relationship.
"Edward was marvellous at bringing peace into fractious
situations," Wheeler-Booth says:
He was easy to work with albeit that he stuck up for those
over whom he was directly in charge. He understood the
temper of the House of Lords and fitted in like a glove,
acquiring the respect and liking of badge messengers,
cleaning staff, topmost dukes and everyone else, member and
employee. Edward Jones was a good egg.
Along with his colleagues in the Commons, particularly Peter
Jennings and Sir Michael Cummins, successive Serjeants at
Arms, he had to tackle the immensely difficult problems of
security in the Palace of Westminster. Jones showed an
excellent mixture of caution and good sense.
Like his father before him, Jones went to the Portora Royal
School at Enniskillen and, following the tradition of so
many Northern Irish families who have distinguished
themselves in the British Army, won the Infantry Sword of
Honour at Sandhurst before being commissioned into the
Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry. Although he
had a place at Pembroke College, Cambridge he left
university after a fortnight in the mistaken belief that he
was not up to the academic demands.
He first saw service in the counter-terrorist operations in
Cyprus against General George Grivas and Eoka. I first met
him as a young officer when I was on a parliamentary visit
to the forces in Sarawak in 1965. He did not share my
opinion that confrontation with Indonesia was unjustified,
and was a believer in the policy in Borneo. After service in
Germany, he was posted to Northern Ireland and mentioned in
despatches in 1972. On a subsequent tour of duty he
commanded the 1st Battalion of the Royal Green Jackets,
formed out of a number of units including Jones's former
regiment, the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light
Infantry.
He was appointed to the UN force in Cyprus in 1976 and was
glad to get back to an island which he always said had
greatly interested him since he fought Eoka. In 1981-1983 he
was commander of the 6th Armoured Brigade which marked him
out as a real high flyer and then, because of his diplomatic
skills, he was chosen to go to Zimbabwe where he established
an effective relationship with the then much younger Robert
Mugabe who had become Prime Minister. He told friends how
sad he was that Mugabe in later years had become such a
tyrant.
"I upgraded Edward from Brigadier to Major-General on
account of the importance of the job which he was doing so
well in Zimbabwe," says Field Marshal Sir John Stanier,
former Chief of the General Staff. "The warmth and
generosity of Edward's character had made him an outstanding
well-loved Colonel of the Green Jackets. He was extremely
popular throughout the Army." On return from Harare, Jones
became Director-General of the Territorial Army.
Like his father, he was given command of an armoured
division in Germany, in 1987. Unexpectedly, he was recalled
to London in 1988 as Quartermaster General, a pivotal
position because he had to tell the politicians that tanks
and guns were in short supply, and those that were available
were subject to a whole host of defects. Jones, however, got
considerable credit for starting the sensible restructuring
of logistical services and for this he was promoted in 1992
to become a four-star general and Britain's military
representative at Nato headquarters in Brussels.
Contemporaneously with his Army Board responsibilities he
was Colonel Commandant of the Royal Army Educational Corps,
1986-92, and of the Royal Green Jackets, 1988-95, both of
which tasks he regarded as more than ornamental and
demanding both his interest and his time.
During the period that he was Black Rod, he devoted many of
his non-working hours to being a governor of Wellington
College and a commissioner of the Royal Hospital Chelsea.
Maj-Gen Jonathan Hall, former Lieutenant-Governor of the
Royal Hospital, says:
He was always very clear as to his views, which showed a
flexible mind, an awareness of the changing times, but also
of his real love of the pensioners, putting their needs
first. He was a great communicator, and enjoyed the
opportunity of talking with the Chelsea pensioners. He was
fun to have around and was always full of kindly bonhomie.
Charles Edward Webb Jones, soldier: born Altrincham,
Cheshire 25 September 1936; Commander, 6th Armoured Brigade
1981-83; Commander, British Military Advisory Training Team,
Zimbabwe 1983-85; Director-General, Territorial Army
1985-87; Commander, 3rd Armoured Division 1987-88;
Quartermaster General, Ministry of Defence 1988-91; UK
Military Representative to Nato 1992-95; Gentleman Usher of
the Black Rod and Serjeant-at-Arms, House of Lords
1995-2001; Commissioner, Royal Hospital Chelsea 1995-2001;
married 1965 Suzanne Leschallas (two sons, one daughter);
died 14 May 2007.