Mr Hedley Jones - In Memoriam

2017/09/10 - The Astronomical Association of Jamaica

The tributes to the late Mr. Hedley Jones, who died on September 01, have

acknowledged his contribution particularly to the music industry to which he

made a great contribution.

Among his other interests was Astronomy, and the Astronomical

Association of Jamaica, (the AAJ), would like to place on record not only its

condolences to his family, but also its acknowledgement of his support of the

science of Astronomy.

In his article on Astronomy in St. James which appears on our website,he

admits to having 'pledged to be a star gazer' in 1927 at the age of ten. He was a

member of our Association, and also the British Astronomical Association.

He recounts his visit in 1971 to Kempshot in St. James, where there was at

the time an Observatory and the library with astronomical information which had

been collected by a previous owner of the house, Maxwell Hall.

Hedley Jones used to build telescopes, and he makes special reference to

one that he had built - "a 6 inch refractor telescope, mounted on a locally devised

and built motor driven equatorial stand" - which he considered his best effort at

telescope making. Using that instrument he viewed Halley's Comet in November

1985.

The AAJ was thrilled have him attend a function at Sam Sharpe Teachers

College, in October 2012, with a hovering Hurricane Sandy. We had an

afternoon with the members of the College and of several schools in the Montego

Bay Area, when we distributed Galileoscopes to the various institutions. This

came through the instrumentality of Mrs. Jeanne Robinson-Foster, and Mr. Jones

and his son were special guests, and he participated actively in the function. His

keen mind and enthusiasm impressed us all, and more so when we added the

fact of his venerable age of 1 month short of 95 years.

We give thanks for the many interests of Mr. Hedley Jones, and are

especially grateful that these included Astronomy.