Believed to be. This man thus far has only one identified and tenuous connection to Oswestry. Further information or confirmation is needed.

John Pritchard Jones was born in 1892 at Aberdaron on the Llyn peninsula. He was the only son of Richard and Ellen Jones of Felin Nant, Aberdaron where his father was a corn miller. He had one older and one younger sister. In 1911 he was a live-in cowman on a farm – Carreg Plas, Aberdaron and working for Walter J Lloyd. At the outbreak of war he was living in Pwllheli.

John was called up. He registered at Bangor and reported the next day, 3 March 1918, to Wrexham. He enlisted in the Royal Welsh Fusiliers and was posted to one of the RWF Training and Reserve units based at Park Hall Camp, Oswestry. At this time these battalions were being disbanded and amalgamated and would transfer to Kimnel. However, on 6 June 1917, John was admitted to Military Hospital at Park Hall, diagnosed and receiving treatment for syphilis. This is John’s only certain connection to Oswestry. He spent 63 days in hospital and was discharged on 24 August 1917. Shortly after returning to duty, in November 1917, he transferred over to the Machine Gun Corps at Grantham. He either did not make the grade or was not needed in the MGC, and in March 1918 was transferred back to RWF posted to 9 Bn. He went over to France at this time. He was KIA on 18 April 1918 at Ypres during Operation Georgette Kaiser Offensive; the Battalion was in the sector around Wytschaete about 1 mile north of Messines. His body was lost and he is commemorated on Tyne Cot Memorial. He is also (possibly) on the war memorial at Aberdaron as JP Jones.

Acknowledgements.

References and Sources

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