Sir Owen Saunders, 24 September 1904 - 10 October 1993

Owen Alfred Saunders was born on 24 September 1904 in London, the only son of Alfred George Saunders and of Margaret Ellen Saunders (née Jones) who, as the name implies, was of Welsh origin, believed to have been descended from Owain Glyndwr. Sir Owen died on 10 October 1993. His health had not been good for some time and his failing sight in his last years restricted his activities. Alfred George Saunders was an engineer, who entered the firm of Beck and Co. as a draughtsman. He was, however, a man of considerable capability and ingenuity and in the course of a very busy life rose to be Managing Director. He was the inventor and designer of the Beckmeter Petrol Pump which at one time almost monopolized the forecourt of petrol filling stations in Britain. The Jones family, from which Sir Owen’s mother came, had its own distinctions. She was a teacher, who had a great influence on his formative years. Her brother, O. G. Jones - who was known as ‘the Only Genuine Jones’ - had been a student at the Royal College of Science at South Kensington. His claim to fame was as a mountaineer and rock-climber. He was also a writer and was the author of the widely acclaimed text onRock-climbing in the English Lake District , a book that ran to three editions and is still considered one of the best references on the subject. He lost his life on 28 August 1899 when the guide fell on the west- ridge of the Dent Blanche. Only one of the five-man team survived and the account by F. W. Hill of the accident makes fascinating and tragic reading.