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RICS 150

2 MAY 2018

Emlyn Jones: Bomb disposal officer

Emlyn Jones was an accomplished Welsh surveyor, bomb disposal officer in the Second World War and experienced Alpine and Himalayan climber.

Having qualified from university as a chartered surveyor, Emlyn joined the Royal Engineers on the outbreak of the Second World War to help defuse devices in London.

While on duty Emlyn made the incredible discovery that low-level bombs had a time-delay fuse which did not arm until the shell hit the ground. Emlyn therefore noted that they could stop the fuse clock on bombs with either strong magnets, or pouring in brine. Having established himself as an expert in the field, Emlyn was later posted in northern Europe after D-DAY to help destroy the secret V3 “super-gun”.

Throughout the war Emlyn reported back to the War Office on developments in the explosives technology and was appointed an MBE, which was later raised to CBE, for this crucial intelligence.

Following the end of the war, Emlyn was able to resume his career as a surveyor and joined a commercial partnership in London. He later spent seventeen years at the Lands Tribunal where he became an authority on rating valuation and appeals. Emlyn shared his expertise in both these fields in 1982, when he published his book The Lands Tribunal: a Practitioner’s Guide. As an esteemed surveyor Emlyn was appointed a Council Member of RICS.

Emlyn had a passion for mountaineering and came close to being one of the first people to climb Everest. In 1952 Emlyn was approached by John Hunt to be part of the Mount Everest reserve team.

Unfortunately, Emlyn and the rest of the reserve team never had the opportunity to complete the expedition as the first team were successful in their ascent; however Emlyn still played a vital part behind the scenes of the eventual conquest in 1953. Emlyn contributed a number of articles to mountaineering journals and acted as president of the Climbers Club in 1968-1969 and later of the Alpine Club in 1980-1982.

Sadly, Emlyn Jones passed away in 2014 aged 99; however he leaves behind an impressive legacy in his widespread achievements.