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David Jervois (in dark overcoat) pictured when the foundation stone was laid at the Newton Abbot & District Recreational Trust – home of South Devon CC – in February 1971
A CRICKET club administrator who spent 50 years in the same voluntary job has died after a short illness.
David Jervois, who was 86, died in Torbay Hospital where he was being cared for after suffering a stroke.
Jervois joined South Devon Cricket Club in 1963 after moving to Newton Abbot to practice law with Woollcombe Watts and Co.
The following year he took over as secretary of the cricket club from Clive Angel and remained in the post for five decades,
Jervois announced late last year he would be standing down at the club’s annual meeting in January.
Barry Widdicombe, the South Devon CC chairman, said Jervois’ record of service was second to none.
“I doubt there is anyone in Devon at any sports club who has filled that sort of position for half a century,” said Widdicombe.
“David was unique, a one-off, who was more than a fixture and fitting at our club – he was the club.
“He was a player for 25 years, second team captain in the late 60s and early 70s, secretary for 50 years and president since 1993.
“David never had much time for anything modern, such as mobile phones, email, the internet or anything like that.
“Using what must have been a battered, old typewriter with a ribbon worn thin through years of use, judging from the correspondence he churned out, David managed our day to day affairs year after year.
“Other people will be secretary of our club in years to come, but David will never be replaced. There will never be another like him.”
David Jervois was more than just the secretary of South Devon CC. His list of sporting activities was extensive to say the least.
Jervois (pictured as South Devon CC president, handing out awards at the club dinner) was one of the driving forces behind the creation of the Newton Abbot & District Recreational Trust in Marsh Road, which opened in 1971.
The Trust was formed to provide a home for South Devon CC, Newton Abbot Spurs FC, squash and tennis clubs on the site of the Recreation Ground.
South Devon had previously played on what is now Cricketfield Road car park next door, which had been acquired by Newton Abbot UDC under a compulsory purchase order.
At the same time Jervois was involved in talks between the leading cricket clubs in Devon to start a county league, which was formed in 1972.
He served the league as legal advisor and was competition president from 1989-2002
Jervois was a man of many sporting interests, which include more than 30 years as secretary of Torbay Hockey Club, for whom he played and later umpired.
He was legal advisor to and a vice-president of Newton Abbot RFC and played golf at Stover.
Jervois arrived in Newton Abbot from a law firm in North Devon in April 1963 and stayed with the same practice through numerous name changes until his retirement in 1989.
During his career in the law he was clerk to the Tax Commissioners appeal board and chairman of the supplementary benefits appeal panel.
“He was an all-rounder in the legal profession, dealing in litigation, appearing in court or handling property transactions,” said Michael Setter, a former colleague at Woollcombe Beer Watts.
One of his last tasks with what was by the Woollcombe Beer Watts was to oversea the acquisition of the old Congregational Church in Queen Street, which the firm moved into in 1988.
Jervois, who lived in Bovey Tracey with wife Pam, had been a member of the Rotary Club.
David Reginald Warren Jervois was born in Hertfordshire brought up in Surrey and completed his education at Marlborough College in Wiltshire. He attended the college between 1942-47, following in the footsteps of his father, who was a pupil before the Great War.
He went up to Peterhouse College, Cambridge to read law with the intention of becoming a solicitor.
After graduating – and National Service in the Army – Jervois started work for a law firm in north Devon before moving to Newton Abbot about a year later.
Following his retirement from the law in 1989, Jervois remained as a consultant with the company for many years.
In retirement he was able to indulge his passion for cricket, which included following England in Australia during an Ashes series.
David married Pam at Bromley in 1958.The couple have a daughter – Jane – and two grandchildren.
