John Owen Thomas was born on 6 October 1899 at Oswestry. He was the fourth child of William and Mary Jones. They lived at 35 Lorne Street, Oswestry. Mary would have 9 children with 5 surviving – Elizabeth, Mary, Alice, Him and youngest William. Their father was a compositor in a printing works. The girls all worked as dressmakers and milliners. John would go on to serve an apprenticeship with Francis and Beckets, Grocers, The Cross, Oswestry and then was employed by Mr Goodwin, shopkeeper on Castle Street, Shrewsbury.

John was probably a conscript. He enlisted age 18 on 15 December 1917 joining the Royal Navy. He took his training at HMS Victory shore training base and on 16 April 1918 was posted to HMS Attentive III, a shore base at Dover and an operational centre for the Dover Patrol. He was killed on 10 May 1918 during a raid on the harbour at Ostend, Belgium. This was the second raid on Ostend, John had also been in action during the first on 23 April 1918. The raid was planned to sink a block ship – the Vindictive – in Ostend harbour and deny its use for U Boats. John volunteered for ‘dangerous action’ aboard motor boat ML 25 tasked with escorting the Vindictive and then evacuating the crew when the ship had been scuttled. Things did not go to plan, the Vindictive ended up in the wrong place and the motor boats had to go to the landward side where they came under heavy fire from shore. John was killed by a shell burst as they made the approach. Also killed was the first officer, Lt Gordon Ross, whilst the Coxswain and Commander, Lieutenant Geoffrey Henage Drummond were wounded. They managed to take off about 40 men and then slowly and overladen, holed and taking in water, were able to make their way out of the harbour to be picked up by a destroyer escort, HMS Warwick. Lieutenant Drummond was awarded a VC. John was mentioned in despatches. Shortly after they had been rescued HMS Warwick hit a mine and had to be towed back to Dover where John’s body was off loaded and from there was returned to Caernarvon, his father’s home town, for burial at St Peblig, Llanbeblig. John is also commemorated at St Oswald’s Church, Oswestry and on Caernarvon Cenotaph.

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