Jim Wallis
(extract from the Eton Fives Association Annual Report 1994/95)
It is with very great sadness that we have to report the tragic death of Jim Wallis in January. Jim was a very good all round sportsman who developed an outstanding ability at Eton Fives. Having hardly played the game at school, he was encouraged to join the Old Olavians Club in the late 1950's and very quickly demonstrated an aptitude for the game.
Inspired by the challenge of something new, Jim was playing in the top competitive pairs within two seasons, where his game developed rapidly and powerfully. His speed about court was legendary, the ability to return high percentages of the most telling shots was remarkable, but his left handed smash to the deep right hand corner was arguably the finest to have been seen in Fives. In 1961 he was involved in an epic Kinnaird Cup final defeating opponents of the highest calibre to win the Championship. This he repeated in 1962 and 1964, narrowly missing out in a long final in 1963, when he was injured during the match.
He had many interests - football, squash, motor racing among them - and left the Fives world for a time. He returned in the early 1970s and was immediately back in top competition, this time in the winning Old Olavian Barber Cup Team of 1971. Further wins in this tournament just eluded Jim in the 1973 final, and he retired from the game to concentrate on his passion with motor racing, in which his reputation as a fast and brave driver was well deserved and his successes were many. His family business interests flourished and he led them to be one of the foremost companies in the plastic sack and container industry in Europe.
Jim Wallis had an incisive wit that was kindly but pertinent to the circumstances of the time. In his drive for perfection he reached the highest peaks and will be remembered with awe, warmth and gratitude as a man of immaculate and impeccable standards. Our heart-felt sympathies go to his widow, two children and their families.