New Charity Chief Installed by Duke
HRH The Duke of Gloucester will make a special visit to South Wales to officially install St John Wales’ new prior, Dan Clayton-Jones OBE, at a prestigious ceremonial event taking place at Llandaff Cathedral on Saturday, May 14.
Dignitaries, Welsh Assembly members and St John leaders from across the globe will gather for the formal ceremony, which will also mark the departure of the outgoing Prior, David Hugh Thomas, CBE.
Mr Clayton-Jones, of Pontyclun, has been involved with St John Wales for more than 10 years. He started as the organisation’s Almoner - guiding the charity’s fundraising department - before being appointed as Chancellor, a role he has fulfilled for the last six years.
He already holds esteemed positions including his roles as Deputy Chair of the NHMF (National Heritage Memorial Fund) and Chairman of the Wales Committee of the Heritage Lottery Fund.
Mr Clayton-Jones said: ’I am very pleased to have been chosen as the new Prior. I hope to make a real difference to the charity and will aspire to change the organisation for the better over the next five or six years. I want St John Wales to develop as a caring, highly professional and effective healthcare organisation. I hope St John will be perceived as the premier charity of Wales.’
In addition to officially formalising Mr Clayton-Jones’ significant appointment within the organisation, The Duke will invest and promote more than 40 exceptional St John Wales members into the Order of St John.
Amongst those being honoured is BBC broadcaster and St John Ambassador Roy Noble who will be promoted as a Commander Brother of Order of St John for his contribution to the charity.
He said: ’My promotion is a singular honour. My membership has been a revelation and a humbling experience. I have full admiration for the St John Ambulance members who dedicate their lives to helping others.’
Before the ceremony, The Duke will officially open a new St John Wales centre, funded by the Welsh Assembly Government, in West Cardiff. The ’900,000 operational centre in Norbury Road, Fairwater, will house 20 ambulances and a new division teaching lifesaving skills to people in the area. Additionally, NHS paramedics working in South East Wales will be using the centre as a training facility, specifically for CPD (Continued Personal Development) training.
During his two-day visit, the Duke will also be attending a fundraising gala dinner at the Hilton Hotel in Cardiff in aid of the Phelophepa healthcare train run by the St John Priory in South Africa.
Keith Dunn, Chief Executive for St John Wales, said: ’We are delighted that the Grand Prior of the Order of St John, HRH The Duke of Gloucester, will be spending the weekend seeing the work of the charity at first hand and will be recognising the work of the volunteers who have all made a difference in the community at large. We are thrilled that he is opening our new Operational Centre before investing our new Prior. This is an exciting time for the charity as it continues to grow and evolve and I look forward to celebrating these changes at this significant event.’
The Order of St John was founded as a Christian charity in the 11th Century. Today it is a Royal Order of Chivalry, with Her Majesty The Queen as its Sovereign Head. It comprises two dynamic foundations ’ the first aid charity, St John Ambulance, and the St John of Jerusalem Eye Hospital.
Pen Picture of Dan Clayton-Jones
Born in Porth in the Rhondda, Mr Clayton-Jones was educated at Cowbridge Grammar School, Llandovery College Carmarthenshire, and King’s College, London University where he read law, and was a recipient of an E.S.U. Scholarship to study in the USA.
He began his career in marketing with Ford of Europe as PA to the Vice-President of Marketing, based in Brussels. Over the following twelve years he held senior marketing appointments with the Wales Tourist Board (Marketing Manager) and the Rank Organisation (Marketing Director Leisure Division).
In the mid 1980s, in partnership with his brother, he founded Crown & Co in South Wales, selling his interest to Royal Insurance Plc in 1990. He is a director of Cord Investments Ltd and J.J. & F Property Holdings Ltd., both leisure and commercial property companies.
A life-long supporter of the heritage in Wales, he was Secretary of the Historic Houses Association in Wales for twelve years and is a founding life member of the Historic Gardens Trust. He has been the Vice-Chairman of the National Trust in Wales and was the Chairman of The National Botanic Gardens of Wales, a ’44 million Millennium project.
In the last three years he has chaired Hendreff Building Preservation Trust, Cowbridge Physic Garden Trust and is the Chancellor and Knight of Justice of the Order of St John, Priory for Wales. A former High Sheriff of his County, Hon. Consul for Canada in Wales since 1999 and was made a Deputy Lieutenant of Mid Glamorgan in 2001. He was also Chairman of ’Prime Cymru’, one of the Prince of Wales Group of Charities until 2008 and was awarded an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours for 2010.
