George Daniel Jones

George Daniel Jones (1900 – 24 February 1969) was a Bristol gas worker, swimming organiser, coach, and school welfare officer. He was awarded the George Medal for gallantry after climbing a gas holder during the Bristol Blitz in November 1940 and removing incendiary bombs that threatened a large industrial and residential area, primarily The Dings, St Philip's, and Barton Hill. Alongside his wartime bravery, he was a prominent figure in Bristol swimming in the mid-20th century, founding Bristol Central Swimming Club and serving the club for decades as its secretary, treasurer, and coach.

Early life Jones was born in 1900. He grew up in Bristol and became involved in swimming through Broad Plain Lads' Club, which offered swimming alongside football, cricket, and tennis. By the interwar years he and his wife Lily were living at 24 Folly Lane, St Philip's, in company housing beside the large gas holder later associated with the act for which he received the George Medal. He was also active in youth work in the St Philip's and Dings districts, where he helped train Boys' Brigade bandsmen and coached local boys in swimming and other sports.

Sport ran alongside his working life. In his younger years he played association football as an amateur for St Philip's Adult School and the Union Jacks, and later appeared for both Bristol City and Bristol Rovers. He also had trials for Chelsea and won a county cap for Gloucestershire in 1927 and 1928.

Swimming, however, became the chief focus of his public life. After returning to his old club after the war, he took on the roles of captain and secretary in 1924, and remained in office until the club came to an end in 1936.

Jones also became a familiar journalistic voice in local sports features. For about 15 years he served as swimming correspondent for the Bristol Evening Post and its sports paper, the Green 'Un, ultimately retiring from the role in 1967. The holder stood within Bristol's principal gasworks district, where Avon Street and neighbouring installations formed part of a major concentration of industry in St Philip's. Today, his name continues to be preserved more widely within competitive swimming through the G. D. Jones Memorial Trophy, awarded at the Swim England National Winter Championships to the highest-ranked female junior swimmer in the 200 metre backstroke.

In the 1980s and 1990s the local historian Benjamin Price campaigned for a permanent memorial on the site of the former gas holder. A plaque was unveiled there in November 1995 by Jones's children, John and Pat, with support from British Gas and the Bristol Development Corporation. The present-day location of the plaque corresponds to Folly Lane, with the nearby George Jones Road also named in his memory.