My husband, Harry Jones, who has died aged 86, was a committed teacher and college principal at sixth-form and technical colleges, and in adult education.
Harry was born and brought up in County Durham, the son of William Jones, a miner, and his wife, May (nee Cowley). His father was sent down the pit at the age of 12 to be the family breadwinner. Harry’s mother left her village school at 14 but was a great reader. Raised on the estate of the Backhouses, the Darlington bankers, where her mother was housekeeper and her father coachman, May had access to their library, and thanks to this, Harry benefited from a pre-school education.
Unemployment in Durham caused the family to move in 1940 to Coventry, where they experienced wartime air raids. Grammar schools were then fee paying, with a few bright children selected for special places, and Harry gained one at King Edward VI school, Nuneaton.
It was a disrupted secondary education. The school was bombed, so for some time pupils went to school only on Tuesdays and Thursdays, to receive work to be done at home. Even when full-time schooling resumed, there were no laboratories, gymnasium or library. Nevertheless Harry was an exceptional student. As well as achieving academic success, he was captain of rugby, selected for Warwickshire’s under-18s, editor of the school magazine, and played Prospero and Bottom in school plays. He won prizes for public speaking and as the best all-round sportsman.
After national service as a technical instructor – he claimed the army taught him to teach in six weeks – he went to Birmingham University, where he and I met. First as a lecturer in English at West Bromwich and then as senior lecturer in liberal studies at Ipswich, he supported the movement to liberalise traditional technical colleges, which eventually led to the formation of new universities.
As head of department at Northampton College of Further Education, vice principal at Dacorum College, Hemel Hempstead and principal at Borehamwood College of Further Education, he developed a vision of a student-centred combination of sixth-form college, technical college and adult education, acting as a resource for the whole community. This he worked to create as principal from 1978 at Isle College, Wisbech. Encouraging staff to engage in the life of the town, he was an active member of local organisations, published local history studies, and gave talks to local societies.
In retirement from 1993, he enjoyed literature, theatre, film, music, politics and football. Open to new ideas, he developed expertise with the computer and the internet. He supported the Labour party, to which he believed he owed his opportunities in life. Nothing, though, ranked in importance with support for his family.
He is survived by me, and by our sons, Gavin and Duncan, and five grandchildren, Edward, Natasha, Louise, Sara and Jeremy.
