John Jones, HMT Connaught

He was the husband of Mary Jones (nee Hughes). They married 7 February, 1907 at Holyhead Registry Office. At that time he was aged 42 and a widower. His wife was aged 26, a spinster living at Baptist Street, Holyhead. Mary already had a son, Robert Richard Hughes, born in 1901. They went on to have at least three other children - Jennie (Jane) (b.1907), Josiah (b.1908) and Gwendoline (b.1913, d.1919). The 1911 Census records the family living at 7 Station Street, Holyhead.

The publication "Holyhead and the Great War" has a John Jones listed as a crew member of the Connaught. In addition, the newspaper Holyhead Chronicle on 7 April 1916 describes a local seaman, John Jones, "having drowned in a foreign port on 26 March 1916. He was said to be 52 years old and to have worked since aged 14 for the City of Dublin Steam Packet Company. He had also served about 25 years with the Navy and received a Long Service medal". (The photograph above shows John Jones wearing what seems to be his long service medal). The official log for the Connaught records John Jones being granted leave from noon to 6pm at Le Havre, France but then failing to return to the ship, which then sailed at 11pm. He is recorded as having deserted the ship. At that time RMT Connaught was serving as a Troop Transport, running from Southampton to Le Harve.

He joined the RNR in 1893 and his Service Record (D898) records his date of birth as 22 June 1864. He may have reduced his stated age by two years to qualify himself for the RNR. Up to May 1909 he was employed on the LNWR Steamers and then completed two foreign going voyages on SS Polyphemus to Australia and SS Macheon to Japan. On his return he moved to the coastal trade on SS Foy until he settled back at Holyhead, working ashore from late 1911 for the LNWR and then for the CoDSPCo. He was presented with the RNR Long Service and Good Conduct Medal in July 1911. He completed 20 years with the RNR in 1913. (His Long Service and Good Conduct Medal was purchased by a family member at auction in July 2015 for £260).

There is no John Jones listed with the Commonwealth War Graves Commision (CWGC) Debt of Honour Register as having been lost whilst serving on HMT (RMS) Connaught. His omission may have been due to the nature of his demise not meeting the requirements for CWGC commemoration. The town considered this differently and his name was included on the Memorial. (To be listed on the Debt of Honour Register the rule for Mercantile Marine men was that they had to die both on duty and of a war cause or a cause due to an increased threat brought on by war. Generally this had to occur overseas.The Mercantile Marine was one of the Recognised Civilian Organisations eligible for CWGC commemoration if both requirements were met).

At present John Jones has no known grave. It is believed that his body was not recovered. Searches of Death Registers, such as "Maritime Deaths", "British Nationals Died Overseas" and deaths registered in Southampton have failed to find any reference to him.

I am grateful to LST_164, a contributor to the Great War Forum, for initially pointing me in the direction of the report in the Holyhead Chronicle regarding the possible death of John Jones. I am also grateful for the information and photograph of John Jones provided by his grandson, Martyn Evans, who is continuing to research the circumstances surrounding the death of his grandfather. My thanks also to Aled L Jones for much of the information regarding John Jones' family and also Brian Ellis, of Dún Laoghaire Maritime Museum, the source of information from the ship's log. - BRH.

Image of the RMS Connaught is from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Connaught_201897.jpg