Commemorated: | |||
| 1. Memorial: | Thiepval Memorial, Picardie | Pier and Face 4 A. | |
| 2. Book: | The (1921) Masonic Roll of Honour 1914-1918 | Pg.127 | |
| 3. Memorial: | The (1940) Scroll - WW1 Roll of Honour | 32D GQS | |
Awards & Titles: | Queen's South Africa Medal 5 Clasps Coronation Medal (1911) | ||
Family :
Edwin Tudor Jones was born 12/11/1868 in Debroghur, Bengal.The son of Lt. Gen. Griffith Turner Jones, and Mrs. G. Turner Jones; husband of Harriet Eva Tudor Jones, of Hafdy, Towyn, Merioneth.
Griffith Turner Jones was born in Carnarvon in 1839. He married Elizabeth Jane Moran in Calcutta in 1867.
Jones - Kirby. March 3rd, in the Registrar's Office, by Mr W T Lloyd, Assistant [or temporary] Registrar, were married Capt. Edwin Tudor Jones, Cartref, Llwyngwril, with Miss Harriet Eva Kirby, Llanfendigaid, Llangelynin.
Service Life:
Campaigns:
- The Second Anglo-Boer War 1899-1902, South Africa.
- The First World War 1914-1918, World-wide.
| Unit / Ship / Est.: 1/Royal Welsh Fusiliers |
1st Battalion August 1914 : in Malta. Returned to England, landing at Southampton 3 September 1914. 3 September 1914 : attached to 22nd Brigade in 7th Division. Landed at Zeebrugge 7 October 1914. Moved with the Division to Italy in November 1917. |
| Action : The Battles of the Somme 1916 |
The Battle of the Somme 1st July - 18th November 1916 is inevitably characterised by the appalling casualties (60,000) on the first day, July 1st 1916. Having failed to break through the German lines in force, and also failed to maximise opportunities where success was achieved, the battle became a series of attritional assaults on well defended defence in depth. The battle continued officially until 18th November 1916 costing almost 500,000 British casualties. German casualties were about the same, and French about 200,000. The Somme could not be counted a success in terms of ground gained or the cost, but it had a strategic impact as it marked the start of the decline of the German Army. Never again would it be as effective whilst the British Army, learning from its experience eventually grew stronger to become a war winning army. The German High Command recognised that it could never again fight another Somme, a view that advanced the decision to invoke unrestricted submarine warfare in an attempt to starve Britain of food and material, and in doing so accelerated the United States declaration of war thus guaranteeing the eventual outcome. 287 Brethren were killed on the Somme in 1916.
At least twenty Jones’s served as officers in this one battalion, so a good distinctive name ‘Tudor Jones’ must have been helpful to all. The name was nevertheless not unique to the Regiment as an RGT Tudor-Jones served as a Lieutenant on the Western Front.
Edwin’s father was Lieutenant General Griffith Turner Jones and Tudor was old enough to serve in the ranks of the South African Constabulary during the Boer War, gaining the Queen’s South Africa campaign medal with five clasps.
He was commissioned 5 April 1909 [Special Reserve RWF] became Lieutenant on 7 November 1910 and was a recipient of King George’s Coronation Medal 1911. Edwin was a senior 3rd RWF Lieutenant at the outbreak of war and was given XVI Platoon [a flank platoon] in D Company.
His nickname was ‘Buffalo’ Jones and he was uniquely reputed to have carried his pack throughout the Retreat [in those days subalterns marched with their men, carrying pack and rifle].
It is highly unlikely that Tudor Jones is the Emu Jones of Graves’s second hand account in Goodbye to All That ‘not any good …. Weak heart, faint, skrimshanking etc …’.
‘Buffalo’ Jones was wounded 24 October 1914 at La Cordonnerie and did not return to the battalion but served subsequently with 1st RWF as a Captain [seniority 15 December 1914].
Detail :
He was killed on 3 September 1916 in the Battle of the Somme but his body was not recovered.
His name and sacrifice are commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial.
Masonic :
| Type | Lodge Name and No. | Province/District : |
|---|---|---|
| Mother : | Mawddach No. 1988 E.C. | North Wales |
Initiated | Passed | Raised |
17th June 1903 | 15th July 1903 | 12th August 1903 |
Source :
The project globally acknowledges the following as sources of information for research across the whole database:
- The Commonwealth War Graves Commission
- The (UK) National Archives
- Ancestry.co.uk - Genealogy, Family Trees & Family History online
- ugle.org.uk - The records of the United Grand Lodge of England including the Library and Museum of Freemasonry
Additional Source:
- Founder Researchers : Paul Masters & Mike McCarthy
- Researcher : Bruce Littley