Jack Jones

Jack Jones joined the Cheltenham Swimming and Water Polo Club as a teenager and spent his entire career with them as an outstanding breaststroke swimmer, and won County titles. He was an ever better water polo player. At the time of his death in 2016 Jack was an Honorary Life Member of the club. His two younger brothers, Frank and Phil also played water polo for the club, and in the 1950 season Jack and Phil scored 195 of Cheltenham’s 293 goals in 35 matches, which saw them lose just once as they continued their domination of the sport in the area as they won the Gloucestershire Senior Championship for the 22nd time. Jack, known as “JS” to his team-mates, captained his country many times and was a reserve for the 1948 Olympics. He was appointed captain of the British team scheduled to compete at the 1950 European Championships in Vienna, but the Amateur Swimming Association decided not to send a team because they could not be given sufficient guarantee they could enter the pool, which was in the Soviet-occupied part of the city. However, Jack did go on to captain Great Britain at the 1952 and 1956 Olympics, which was the last appearance of a British water polo team at the Games for 56 years. Jack’s brother Phil was also a one-time captain of the England water polo team.