FOOTBALL
Play it long and play it hard
Till the game is ended.
DULWICH FOOTBALL SONG.
The earliest reference to Paul as a footballer appears in _The
Alleynian's_ report of a match, "Boarders v. School," played on
September 25, 1912, when the School won by 32 points to 21. "Jones,"
says the reporter, "presented an awesome sight." His first appearance
in the 1st XV was against London Hospitals "A" in October. Singling
him out for honourable mention, the critic says: "Jones displayed any
amount of go." He was awarded his 1st XV colours after the match
against Bedford School at Bedford in November. In this hard-fought
game Bedford led at half-time by 15 points to 5, and 25 minutes before
the close of play the score was in Bedford's favour by 28 to 5. Then,
by a wonderful rally, Dulwich scored 23 points in almost as many
minutes, the match finally being drawn 28-28. In _The Alleynian_ for
February, 1913, Paul is thus described in the article, "First XV
Characters":
A young, heavy and extremely energetic forward. Puts all he knows
into his play, and is a great worker in the scrum. In the loose,
however, a lot of his energy is somewhat misdirected, and he has
an alarming tendency for getting off-side.
[Illustration: Dulwich College 1st XV, 1914-15, of which Paul Jones
was Captain.
_From left to right, top Row_: H. C. Jensen, M. Z. Ariffin, E. A. F.
Hawke, R. L. Paton, J. Paget, J. F. G. Schlund, J. M. Cat, G. H.
Gilkes. _Middle Row_: A. H. H. Gilligan, L. W. Franklin, H. P. M.
Jones, L. Minot, R. S. Hellier. _On Ground_: C. A. R. Hoggan, S. H.
Killick.]
In the 1913-14 season, a daily newspaper, describing the hard-fought
Sherborne _v._ Dulwich match, said: "H. P. M. Jones worked like a
Trojan for the losers, his Pillmanesque hair being seen in the
thick of everything." That season Paul had charge of the Junior games.
He had a way with small boys, and soon fired them with his own zeal.
In an article in _The Alleynian_ for December, 1913, giving counsel to
the juniors, he wrote:
You must not gas so much on the field, but play the game as hard
as it can be played. Except in rare circumstances, the only
players who are to shout are the captain, the scrum-half, and the
leader of the forwards. Forwards must learn to pack low and shove
straight and hard. Three-quarters must remember not to run across
too much, and never to pass the ball when standing still.
There are other useful hints. Looking upon the junior games as the
seed-bed for future crops of 1st XV players, he devoted a great deal
of time and patience to teaching the youngsters how to play. In
addition to matches with other schools and clubs, a feature of the
football season at Dulwich are the side-games. Paul played in three
seasons for the Modern Sixth and Remove, and was captain of the
victorious team in the side-contests, 1914-15. House matches of which
he was only a spectator he often reported for _The Alleynian_.
It was at a meeting of the Field Sports Board on July 28, 1914, that
Paul Jones was elected captain of the 1st XV, being proposed by A. W.
Fischer and seconded by A. E. R. Gilligan. At the same meeting R. B.
B. Jones was elected captain of the gymnasium. Fischer, Basil Jones
and my son have been killed in the War. In a report of a meeting of
the Field Sports Board held on September 29 appears the following: "H.
P. M. Jones then submitted a code of rules to regulate the management
of the school games. These were unanimously approved." In a survey of
the prospects of the 1914-15 football season which appeared in the
October _Alleynian_, Paul paid tribute to the magnificent work done
for football in Dulwich by one of the masters, Mr. W. D. Gibbon, an
old International, who joined the Army shortly after the outbreak of
war and is now Lieutenant-Colonel. Paul wrote:
The loss of Mr. Gibbon is a staggering-blow. He it is who, more
than anyone, has given us the very high place we hold among
Rugby-playing schools. To lose his services is disastrous. Still,
it would be shameful to grouse over his departure considering
that he goes to serve his country. Rather let us congratulate him
on his captaincy in the Worcestershires.
A reformer by temperament, my son was determined to improve the
forward play during his captaincy, as he believed that not enough
attention had been given to the forwards for several seasons at
Dulwich. It was inevitable that the War would derange the football
programme, but though there would be few club matches, the new captain
thought that the "school games" might benefit from this very lack.
Anyhow it was "a unique chance to build them up on a sound basis." He
believed in doing everything to encourage in-school football, meaning
by that the half-holiday games, the side-matches, cup matches, and
such games as Prefects v. School, Boarders v. School, the House
matches, etc. He realised that the first three XV's only include 45
boys, and that there were 600 others whose claims to consideration
were equally great. Moreover, good in-school football would produce a
succession of players for the first XV. Having all this in mind, in
his article in _The Alleynian_ he exhorted the game captains to instil
"a general keenness" and to do their duty unselfishly and
enthusiastically. His survey then proceeds:
Now as to the teams. In the first place, let it be said at once
that the outsides are going to be fine this year. Franklin and A.
H. H. Gilligan, the "star" wings of last year's team, and Minot,
undoubtedly the best of the centres, remain to us. Franklin is
faster than of yore, and still goes down the right touch-line
like a miniature thunderbolt, brushing aside the opposition like
so many flies. If he is the thunderbolt, Gilligan, on the other
wing, is undoubtedly the "greased lightning"; we have not seen so
fast a school wing for years, and his newly acquired swerve makes
him all the more dangerous. Minot has quite mastered the art of
passing; we have rarely seen "transfers" made so accurately and
so artistically. He can cut through when required, and altogether
should make Gilligan a splendid partner. All these three defend
stoutly. We are also fortunate in retaining the services of Paton
(2nd XV) for the other centre position; he only wants a little
more judgment to be quite first-class.
At half, Evans and A. E. R. Gilligan have left a terrible gap.
But again fortune is on our side, as we have in Killick (2nd XV)
a worthy successor to the latter--very quick off the mark, and an
excellent giver and taker of passes; while Jensen (2nd XV) shows
promise of becoming a really "class" scrum worker. At present his
chief fault is inaccuracy of direction, but that will soon
vanish. Both these halves are excellent in defence. Again, Hooker
(3rd XV) is a very useful scrum half, but slow in attack. For the
full-back position we have that wily old veteran Ariffin (2nd
XV), whose kicking has distinctly improved since last year. He
tackles as well as ever. Sellick (3rd XV) is a useful back, but
weak in defence.
So, gentlemen, outside the scrum all is well. But what of the
scrum itself? This, we don't deny, is going to be a difficult
problem. It is not that there isn't plenty of good stuff. Hellier
and Gilkes (2nd XV), Hoggan, Schlund, Cat and Fischer (all 3rd
XV)--here is the nucleus of a fine pack, not to mention a host of
hefty and keen fellows as yet without colours. But the difficulty
lies in the traditions of the past. Since 1912, our forwards have
steadily deteriorated as our backs have got better and better. It
was always the way last year that, if we had a ground wet to any
degree, we were as good as beaten--look at the Easter term, for
example. Also, the helplessness of the forwards threw a lot too
much work on the outsides. This has got to be stopped. You can't
always get weather to suit your team's outsides. We must learn
how to play a forward game when it's necessary. We must learn
to screw, to wheel, to shove and to rush. We repeat, the
individuals are there, but they have to be trained into a
combination. The outsides are so brilliant that they can be
trusted faithfully to fulfil the work of passing and open-side
attack.
Our chief efforts this year must be directed to the training of
the forwards: (1) to play a truer forward game; (2) and not to
forget how to attack and adopt open-side tactics when necessary.
Once the teams have re-learnt these lessons, the games will
automatically do so. In the days of Jordan, Mackinnon and Green
we won as many matches by our forwards as by our outsides. It is
fatuous to develop one division at the expense of the other. The
outsides are going this season to receive all possible attention,
_but so are the forwards_.
Paul carried out thoroughly the policy here foreshadowed. As a
consequence forward play at Dulwich was absolutely transformed, and
the impulse he gave to it survives to this day. Under his captaincy
the 1st XV had a brilliantly successful season, winning four out of
five of the great school matches, viz.:
Dulwich v. Merchant Taylors; won 6 points to 5.
" v. Sherborne, won 39 points to 9.
" v. St. Paul's, lost 16 points to 28.
" v. Bedford, won 30 points to 16.
" v. Haileybury, won 36 points to 2.
With the exception of 1909-10, when Dulwich won all its school
matches, this 1914-15 record during Paul's captaincy was the best for
a dozen years. Of the football in the school generally the captain,
writing in the December _Alleynian_, said: "Such a uniform standard of
keenness has rarely been witnessed. For this I have to thank the Games
Captains most sincerely. They have done their part most loyally and
unselfishly. The next few years will prove the value of their work."
[Illustration: Dulwich Modern Side XV, 1914-15, Captained by Paul
Jones.
_From left to right, Top Row_: C. F. N. Ambrose, W. B. Jellett, B. A.
J. Mills, G. Walker, C. R. Mountain. _Second Row_, J. C. Corrie, R. W.
Mills, G. Roederwald, L. Paton, H. V. Morlock. Seated: R. L. Paton, A.
H. H. Gilligan, H. P. M. Jones, C. A. R. Hoggan, J. F. G. Schlund. _On
Ground_: L. A. Hotchkiss, R. A. Mayne.]
In a review of the 1st XV characters in _The Alleynian_ for February,
1915, appeared the following:
H. P. M. Jones (captain) (1912-13-14-15) (12 st. 6 lb.).
Forward.--One of the keenest captains Dulwich has ever produced.
An untiring and zealous worker both in the game and organisation,
from which he has produced one of the finest packs Dulwich has
seen in recent years. He uses every ounce of his weight to
advantage, and his knowledge of the game is beyond reproach. He
is sound in defence, and in the open wherever the ball is you
will find him. We shall all greatly miss him, but will remember
that his valuable work for the forwards will mean much to the
school in the future. (Forward Challenge Cup.)
On February 6 he had the gratification of avenging the defeat by St.
Paul's in the previous November, Dulwich this time being victorious
over the Paulines by 39 to _nil_. With this victory he regarded his
work as captain of football finished, though he played in the
side-games until March. In spite of the difficulties caused by the
war, the season had been a triumphant one. An old member of the 1st
XV, Lieut. A. E. R. Gilligan, writing from his regiment, congratulated
Paul on "the magnificent record of the team--a record which reflects
the utmost credit on its captain. Without your keenness and energy the
side would have been a poor one." Lieut. Gilligan added: "To have
beaten St. Paul's was absolutely a crowning effort. All the 'O.A.'s'
here are overjoyed at our victory. It is simply splendid, and makes up
for the defeat of last term. Best congratulations to all the gallant
team and to its victorious captain."
Paul's football enthusiasm inspired him on one occasion to attempt a
metrical description of a match between Bedford and Dulwich. The
nature of this poetical effusion may be gauged by the following
quotations:
In November, month of drabness,
Month of mud and month of wetness,
Came the red-shirted Bedfordians,
Came the lusty Midland schoolmen,
Skilled in every wile of football,
Swift to run, adept to collar,
'Gainst the Blue-and-Blacks to battle.
Know ye that this famous contest
Has from age to age endured:
Thirty years and more it's lasted
'Twixt Bedfordians and Dulwich,
'Twixt the Midlanders and Southrons.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Behold the game now well in progress;
See the dashing Dulwich outsides,
Swift as leopards, brave as lions,
Down the field come running strongly--
See the fleet right-wing three-quarter
Darting through the ranks of Bedford,
Handing off his fierce opponents,
Scoring now 'mid deaf'ning uproar,
'Mid wild shouts of "Well played, Dulwich!"
'Mid the sweetest of confusion.
He followed with close attention the exploits of the chief Rugby
clubs, especially those hailing from South Wales. His sympathies were
with Wales in the international games. These international matches
enthralled him, and he was a spectator whenever possible of those that
were played in the vicinity of London. One of his ambitions was some
day to don the scarlet jersey with the Prince of Wales's plume and
play for Wales in international contests. To achieve that distinction
and to win his football "blue" for Oxford--these were cherished
ambitions which but for the War would doubtless have been realised.
In the spring of 1915, interviewed by a London football editor, he
explained how Dulwich had built up its great football reputation. Much
of the success he attributed to the system of training.
We do not divide the school into so many "houses," as they do
elsewhere, but into "games." We have no fewer than eight senior
games, which means eight groups of players, about thirty in each
group; and these are selected so that boys of about the same age
and weight will meet each other. When we have arranged our games,
one of the Colours--1st XV men--is told off to coach. Sometimes
we play as many as nine XV's in one day. With the first team we
practise what are called "set-pieces." One day we will take the
forwards, get the scrum properly formed, practise hooking,
heeling and screwing. We have devoted a lot of attention to
wheeling. We also practise hand-to-hand passing among the
forwards.
My son held that brain as well as muscle was needed in athletics.
"Rugby football," he wrote, "tends more and more to become an ideal
combination of scientific actions. Haphazard, clumsy battering is
useless. Your footballer has to be a thinking and a reasoning factor."
He believed that games properly played are invaluable as a training in
character. "They make," he wrote, "not only for courage and
unselfishness, but also for clean living: a sportsman dare not indulge
in excesses."
Nobody could have found greater happiness in a game of football than
did Paul Jones. He revelled in a hard-fought match and seemed
impervious to knocks and bruises. One of his merits as a captain was
that he never lost heart; he would fight doggedly to the last, even
against adverse conditions. He knew, too, how to adapt his tactics
skilfully to varying conditions of play. It was an intoxicating moment
after a victory, for the boys would sweep into the field of play and
carry the captain in triumph shoulder-high from the arena. In
public-school football no animosities are left, no matter how keenly
contested the game. Victor and vanquished dine together after the
match, the best of friends, and the home team escort their visitors to
the railway station. How well I recollect Paul coming home on Saturday
evenings about eight o'clock after a victorious match; his firm, quick
step, and the eager joy that shone in his face! His mother and I
often watched the games at Dulwich, and he would go over every phase
of the play with us, inviting comments and contributing his own. He
was always severe in his condemnation of anything in the shape of
"gallery play," his constant maxim being that the player should
subordinate himself entirely to the side. It was his conviction that
unselfishness was stimulated by football. The amateur athlete, who
forgot himself in the team of which he was a part, and who played and
worked hard for the honour of the game, and without thought of
personal advantage or reward, was the god of his idolatry. Fond as he
was of sport, and highly as he appreciated it as a discipline for
character, he held that the cult of athletics could be overdone, and
that to make a business of what should only be a pastime was a grave
blunder. In an essay which he wrote on "Sport," he characterises the
professional athlete as a man who is engaged "in the vilest of
trades." "Life," he wrote, "is made up of varied interests, and man
has serious work to do in the world. Excess in sport--or in anything
else--puts the notes of the great common chord of life out of
harmony."