Tower and Town, July 2024 (view the full edition)Barbara Jones - LTA Lifetime AchievementI interviewed Barbara at her home in Town Mill, shortly after she celebrated her 80th birthday. Recognised by the LTA with a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018 for her 45-year contribution to Marlborough Tennis, she has taken every role on the committee during that time. Unable to play since 2016 due to injury, she has remained involved in the background until very recently. Barbara was born in 1944, the youngest of four children at 31 London Road, Bridge Buildings, where her parents were tenants of the Maurice family of doctors. When she was two, they moved to Isbury Road, on the brand-new post-war estate at Cherry Orchard. Barbara's grandmother Caroline was a Dunford, a local family who could trace their roots back to the 18th century. They had a shop at 120 High Street, next to the Rose and Crown pub, which from 1749 to 1929 was a bootmakers and repair shop supplying the College. From 1929 until his retirement in the 1950s Ernest Dunford had the shop, then Hilda (Barbara's mother) and her sister Ellen bought it from him to run Dunford's Confectioner and Tobacconist. The whole family had to work in the shop around school hours. Even her wedding at 18 was managed round the business, arranged for a Wednesday afternoon at 3pm, to fit in with half day closing. When Barbara started at Marlborough Grammar School (the 1904 brick building in the Parade) the summer sport was tennis for girls and cricket for boys. The grammar school courts were then at Elcot Lane, a short walk along the London Road, and she relished the game. She applied to join the tennis club on Kingsbury Street in 1976 and had to be 'played in' to check she was the right standard, in an era that traditionally wore whites. Having passed the test, she would play up to three times on a Saturday and often on Sunday afternoons during the season. Her husband David helped maintain the grass courts with weekly mowing in spring and summer and painting the lines back on. Play was usually possible from May to September. For a very long time, she played in the 'A' Team in the league and, on the committee, brought her enthusiasm to every role she took, which included Secretary, Chair and Treasurer. But perhaps her biggest contribution has been in the Junior Section, spending many years managing junior teams, encouraging the next generation of players, including her own five grandsons. She believes tennis is a sport for life and that joining a club can be a great way to meet people, especially if you have moved to a new town. These days tennis is inclusive and anyone can play, with some coaching. You don't even have to wear whites! 
Barbara was presented with her Lifetime Achievement Award by Wiltshire Lawn Tennis Association in 2018 by the President of Wiltshire LTA, Sir Geoffrey Owen. |