Raymond Bark-Jones

Raymond Bark-Jones

Birth name	Raymond Bark-Jones
Date of birth	(1911-08-29)29 August 1911
Place of birth	Blundellsands, Liverpool, England
Date of death	2 February 1995(1995-02-02) (aged 83)
Place of death	Sefton, England
School	Uppingham School
Rugby union career
Position(s) Lock Amateur team(s) Years Team Apps (Points) Cambridge University R.U.F.C. Waterloo R.F.C. () International career Years Team Apps (Points) 1933 Wales 2 (0)

Raymond Bark-Jones (29 August 1911 – 2 February 1995) was an English rugby union lock who played international rugby for Wales. He played his club rugby for Waterloo R.F.C. and Cambridge University.

Rugby career

Bark-Jones was educated at Uppingham School, Rutland and from there was accepted into Cambridge University. While at Cambridge he played in the 1932 December Varsity match, along with future Wales international Vivian Jenkins. Bark-Jones played impressively and was tipped as a future Welsh cap by the Western Mail and just a few weeks later, in the Welsh trials, was chosen to represent Wales.

Bark-Jones' first international game was a historic Welsh victory over his birth country, England. Wales had failed to win at Twickenham in the first nine attempts, and the Welsh failure at the ground was known as the 'Twickenham bogey'. In an exciting match Bark-Jones played his part with excellent line-out play which was at the heart of the Welsh victory. The game ended 7-3, with all the Welsh points scored by Ronnie Boon. Bark-Jones played just one more international game in the very next match of the Home Nations Championship against Scotland at St Helens.

Bark-Jones was injured at the age of 22 and was forced to retire from rugby.

His family carry on the Rugby tradition with his great-grand sons Sam Halliwell playing 1st team rugby at Shrewsbury and William Halliwell playing 15 A's Rugby.

A quote from his son Neville Bark-Jones, "he was gentle off the pitch yet fearful on".

International matches played

Wales

• England 1933
• Scotland 1933

Bibliography

• Godwin, Terry (1984). The International Rugby Championship 1883-1983. London: Willows Books. ISBN 0-00-218060-X.
• Griffiths, Terry (1987). The Phoenix Book of International Rugby Records. London: Phoenix House. ISBN 0-460-07003-7.
• Smith, David; Williams, Gareth (1980). Fields of Praise: The Official History of The Welsh Rugby Union. Cardiff: University of Wales Press. ISBN 0-7083-0766-3.