Terry Jones OG 1961: An Appreciation

Writer, film director, comedian, poet, librettist and historian, Terry Jones achieved worldwide renown with Monty Python’s Flying Circus after early success on comedy shows such as Do Not Adjust Your Set and The Frost Report. His love of the absurd and a style of visual, often slightly surreal, comedy brought anarchic humour to the group and inspired many comedians across the generations. It was on Python that he honed his directing skills, notably on Life of Brian and The Meaning of Life. He created many memorable moments and characters, both in the sketches and films, and made something of a speciality of playing middle-aged “screeching” women.

Terry went on to direct a comedy fantasy film, Erik the Viking. He also co-created and co-wrote with Michael Palin the TV series Ripping Yarns and in 1987 directed the film Personal Services. In 1996 he wrote and directed an adaptation of The Wind in the Willows, in which he also played the part of Mr Toad.

He became a popular children’s author with a number of books, including Nicobobinus, the story of a boy who can do anything, and The Saga of Erik the Viking, which won the Children’s Book Award in 1984.

A keen historian, Terry wrote several books such as Chaucer’s Knight: The Portrait of a Medieval Mercenary and wrote and presented TV documentaries on ancient and medieval history (Crusades, a four-part documentary series for BBC TV and his Emmy Awardwinning Medieval Lives). The complete works of Chaucer was his Desert Island book of choice.

In 2016 it was announced he was suffering from a form of dementia which robbed him of his ability to communicate, an especially cruel blow. He received a standing ovation in October that year when he appeared on stage to receive a BAFTA Cymru Award for his outstanding contribution to film and television. Born in Colwyn Bay, his family had moved to Guildford when he was four years old but he forever felt Welsh to his core.

Once asked how he would best like to be remembered, Terry replied “Maybe a description of me as a writer of children’s books or some of my academic stuff. Or maybe as the man who restored Richard II’s reputation. He was a terrible victim of 14th Century political spin, you know.”

Terry’s time at the RGS was a foretaste of the eclectic life he would go on to lead. As School Captain, House Captain of Beckingham, Rugby Captain (as a wing forward) and sometime wicketkeeper for the 2nd XI Cricket team, TGPJ also excelled at shooting (Imperial Challenge Silver Medallist) and gained School and/ or House Colours in rugby, gymnastics, cricket, boxing and cross-country. He was on committees for the Debating Society, English Society, General Games and Editor of The Guildfordian. Terry was awarded the Powell Essay Prize for English Literature in 1959, JG Simpson Prize for English Literature in 1960 and achieved a Commonership to read English at St Edmund Hall, Oxford. He later said, “The master who had the most effect on me was someone probably no one else remembers: Don Martin.” (English teacher). Terry was Vice President of the 1991 RGS Appeal and wrote the forward to To be a Pilgrim, a book of OG recollections for the 500th anniversary of the School. ➧

OG friends remember Terry Jones

A reunion with OG friends at Terry’s home

Terry was one of the Claygate gang who commuted to School together; OG friends recall occasions involving “station masters” caps, mild explosives and other deviations”.

“Christmas concert parties, one per house, had riotous sketches and songs, in which Terry was a leading light”. His spectacular Three Little Maids from School in drag lives on in the memory.

“His banter was great”. Terry apparently also persuaded the Headmaster to discontinue the wearing of School Caps by Prefects. In John Daniel’s time as Head, Terry was invited to speak at an OG Dinner. His address brought the house down, involving as it did a two-man Python sketch which he persuaded John to take part in!

Duo for Two Violins In The Sixth Tone System, one of Terry’s Desert Island Disc choices, was played in class music lessons by Mr Dusseck. Those who laughed were reprimanded so Terry bought a copy and trained himself not to laugh at it. He admitted to rather enjoying the piece later on in life. An OG friend of Terry’s visiting the small village of Baixa in South Western China came across a little poster advertising Dr Ho, a practitioner of Chinese traditional herbal medicine. “Seeing me, the “doctor” came out of his house and asked if I knew Terry Jones! “Well yes” I said, and he pointed to the poster which included a press cutting recording a visit the “famous Terry Jones” had made to him a couple of years previously!”

Terry contributed a poem, Space Journey, about his mother (to whom he was especially close} previously published in The Independent on Mother’s Day 2006, to Keith Havelock’s anthology of poetry.

Tongue-in-cheek correspondence

Little known facts: The Pythons were very popular in the USA, including the IT community, which led to two now common usages. Junk email is known as “Spam” after the sketch in which Terry recites a menu which consists of “spam, spam, spam…”. Also a programming language is known as “Python”.

Michael Lane OG 1964 and his wife, actress Jenny Agnew, ex Guildford County School, discovered they had many mutual friends – chief amongst them was Terry who had a wonderful gift for loyalty, fun and friendship. Mike has vivid memories of Terry’s fairmindedness and popularity as School Captain and also that he was CQSM of the School Cadet Corps – which added a piquant touch to the Monty Python parody of army drill! Michael Palin described Terry as thoughtful, warm, generous and sociable. OG tributes added “irrepressible, great fun, kind, loyal, unchanged by fame, fairminded, popular “ – qualities seen in abundance by his School friends over the years. He died on 21 January 2020.