The Great War Society

Roger Jones - In Memoriam

By Michael Huebner, Editor of Relevance


Our Friend Roger
The Great War Society has again suffered a significant loss. Roger Jones, the publisher and printer of our journal, passed away unexpectedly, at the age of only 48, just days after the conclusion of our Twelfth Annual Seminar in San Francisco. Roger was a conspicuous presence during the Seminar. As a book vendor for his own company, Tipperary Books, he offered an impressive selection of First World War publications. He also helped out by taking orders for Society mugs, T-shirts, and compact disks of the Seminar proceedings. Roger remarked that he did not get to hear many of the presentations and participate in the discussions, but he was there every day. His contributions to the Seminar will not be forgotten.

Buying and selling World War I books was just a hobby for Roger. His real occupation was printer. As such, he was an indispensable component of the team that produced Relevance. Just a few short days before he left us, Roger approved the galley proofs and gave the go-ahead for printing the Spring issue. He managed all the technical aspects of production of the journal- layout and typesetting, printing and assembly. He selected photographs and illustrations to complement many of the articles. Even though there were several levels of proof reading before the copy got to him, he still took time to check every line before it went to final print. And he often called me on issues of content if he felt that something was questionable or the wording was unclear. In his own quiet way, he was a serious student of the Great War.

As editor, I could have asked for no better technical support. Once I mailed off the copy of the text and the disk, I could rest assured that all the production and printing details were being taken care of by a professional. And he was a professional-committed to providing you, the members, with a quality journal worthy of our Society. He worked tirelessly to keep production costs in line, yet was always exploring new ways to improve the appearance of the journal, the quality of the illustrations, the professionalism of our final product. Roger will be sorely missed by all, especially those of us involved in the production of Relevance. Others, of course, will now step forward, pick up his tasks and responsibilities. The Society will go on.

I had never met Roger in person until this Seminar, although we talked on the phone many times. My last memory of him is that Sunday, the final day of the Seminar, when I helped him pack up his unsold books, watching him as he carefully-even lovingly-boxed each book, handling the trade paperbacks as conscientiously as he did his first editions and one-of-a-kind specialty books. It struck me that this was what The Great War Society is all about. Roger Jones would never serve pn the Board of Directors, write an article for the, journal, give a Seminar presentation. But those unsung members like Roger are also the heart and soul of the Society.

All of Roger's friends and fellow Great War Society members are invited to join with his family at a remembrance event on Saturday, June 28th at San Francisco's Cliff House starting at noon. The Cliff House was Roger's favorite site for celebrating in the Bay Area.