Lionel Jones was born in London on 5 October 1910, the son of Harry Evan, an architect, and Louisa Ada, his wife. He was educated at the Merchant Taylors' School, from which he followed his brother Bertram to St Thomas's Hospital with a Merchant Taylors' scholarship. He had an outstanding career as a student, winning the Musgrove and Tite scholarships. After junior posts at St Mark's under Naunton Morgan, Max Page, E T C Milligan and Lloyd Davies, he worked in Birmingham in the Emergency Medical Service, and then joined the RAF, reaching the rank of Squadron Leader. He was appointed consultant surgeon in Coventry and Rugby in 1948, retiring in 1976. His main interest was proctology. He married a Miss Cooper. They had one son, Brian, who became a doctor, and one daughter, a nurse. He was involved with his local church and had many interests including painting, golf and gardening. He died on 22 May 2002.