In May we had two very happy visitors leave our school following a tour of St. John the Baptist Chapel. Starting with a phone call from Mr Peter Jones who had been aware since childhood of a memorial window in the Chapel in tribute to his late father Mr William Tunstall Jones, we quickly got to work with Archives to find out more about this discovery. 

We found out that Mr William Tunstall Jones, was in Spread Eagle and a freemason and did indeed have a stained glass window dedicated to him in the Narthex and to the right of the chapel door. The stained glass was designed and installed by Abbotts of Lancaster in the early 1960’s and the picture of St. Christopher commemorates Mr W.T Jones who died in Northern Nigeria in 1962.

During the visit Peter was happy to see where his father had spent his school days commenting on the beautiful location, impressive grounds and historic buildings. On speaking with Peter and his wife Alison it became apparent that this was a sad story. Peter was only one year old when his father passed away during a traffic accident while serving in Nigeria, so does not remember his father. Peter and his family had wanted to see the window for some time as this had been a discussion point in the family over the years but it was not until the death of his mother last year that brought this idea back into focus. This was the first time they had seen the tribute and you could see the sentiment in their faces. Peter stated,

“Upon actually seeing the window we were both in awe of the scale and craftsmanship. I was glad to see it had been kept in good condition and I feel confident that the window will be looked after for many years to come.

“It was an emotional moment after all this time to visit and I will fondly recall the experience. I will keep safe all the documentation that I was given in relation to my father’s time at Rossall.”

As part of our work at the Rossall Foundation and Alumni relations it is our responsibility to arrange and oversee Old Rossalian visits and tours to the school. If you would like a tour of the school, please contact Lisa Squire at l.squire@rossall.org.uk