David Jones was born in 1896 at Llansantffraid, Montgomeryshire. He was the seventh of 9 children of Thomas and Jane Jones. His siblings were Thomas, Sarah, Margaret, Evan, Frances, Emma, Mary and Benjamin, all born in Llansantffraid where they lived at the ‘Gate House’. His father was a carter for a saw mill and timber merchant. His mother died in 1899. By 1911 the family had moved to Oswestry. David was working as a butcher for John Davies at 29 Willow Street, Oswestry; he lived at the premises with three co-workers. His father was living at 4 Vine Cottages, Albert Road with two of his children – Benjamin and Mary, his son and daughter.

By 1914, David had moved away and was working for Lever Brothers at Port Sunlight, it is not known what job he did there. He enlisted at Port Sunlight at the outbreak of war joining 13 Bn Cheshire Regiment – the Wirral Battalion – a Pals Battalion formed at Port Sunlight in September 1914 and went over to France on 25 September 1915. In February 1918 3 Bn Cheshire Regiment was disbanded and it is probably that at this time David was posted to 1/5 Bn Cheshire Regiment.  In May 1918, his battalion was in Arras sector near to Feuchy. In the days before Operation Bulcher-Yorck, Kaiser Offensive, France, over the 20-23 May, the battalion were on working parties in the trench system at Feuchy. The War Diary records 10 ORs wounded – David was probably one of them. He would have been evacuated to 7 CCS at Ligny St Flochel where he died of wounds on 23 May 1918. He is buried at Ligny St Flochel British Cemetery, Averdoingt, France. His headstone reads: ‘We cannot Lord, thy purpose see, but all is well that’s done by thee’, chosen by a Miss M. Jones, probably one of his sisters Mary or Margaret.  David is also commemorated on the Port Sunlight War Memorial.

In David’s obituary in the BCA, 5 June 1918 is mentioned that two of his brothers had also been killed in the war. They have not been positively identified.

Acknowledgements.

References and Sources

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