Pte 16002 John Albert Jones

• Age: 20
• From: Liverpool
• Regiment: The King's (Liverpool Regiment) 17th Btn
• K.I.A Thursday 12th October 1916
• Commemorated at: Thiepval Memorial
  Panel Ref: P&F1D8B &8 C.

John Albert Jones was born in Anfield, Liverpool, on 20th November 1895, the eldest son of John Jones and his wife Elizabeth (née Evans).  They married in about 1894, possibly at St John, Egremont, and had five children, one of whom died young.  Albert was the eldest surviving child; his siblings were Haida (Haidee) Margaret, William Henry, and Mabel. John was baptized in St. Mary’s, Kirkdale, on 20th January 1896, his parents’ residence 4 Attwood Street, and his father’s occupation ship’s cook. 

They are still at 4 Attwood Street in 1901; his mother Elizabeth, 35, is head of household, his father is not listed (likely away at sea), John is 5, Haidee is 4, William is 1.

They are at the same address in 1911.  His mother Elizabeth, 45, married, is head of household, his father is not listed, John is 15, a junior clerk for a fruit merchant, Haidee, 13, William, 11, and Mabel, 9 are at school.

Sister Haidee died aged 19 in 1916 and was buried in Kirkdale Cemetery on the 14^th December. 

John enlisted in Liverpool on 2nd September 1914, as Private 16002, 17th (Pals) Bn, King’s (Liverpool) Regiment, giving his age as 19 years (in fact he was still 18), and his occupation as clerk.  He is described as being 5’ 5” tall, weighing 122 lbs, with a fresh complexion, hazel eyes, and brown hair.  He gives his father John as next of kin, at 41 Burleigh Road South, Anfield. He was billeted at Prescot Watch Factory from 14^th September 1914, he trained there and also at Knowsley Hall. On 30th April 1915 the 17th Battalion alongside the other three Pals battalions left Liverpool via Prescot Station for further training at Belton Park, Grantham. They remained here until September 1915 when they reached Larkhill Camp on Salisbury Plain. He arrived in France on 7^th November 1915. 0n 2/9/1916 John received a Good Conduct Badge on completion of two years’ service.

John was declared Missing on 12th October, 1916.  His name appeared in the list of Missing published in the Liverpool Post & Mercury on 16th November 1916.  In March 1917 John was reported to have been buried by the 1st Australian Bn.  It is not known when his family received news of his fate.  John’s death was later officially presumed to have occurred in action on 12/10/1916.  His body was subsequently lost as he has no known grave and is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing of the Somme. 

The Thiepval Memorial, the Memorial to the Missing of the Somme, bears the names of more than 72,000 officers and men of the United Kingdom and South African forces who died in the Somme sector before 20 March 1918 and have no known grave. Over 90% of those commemorated died between July and November 1916.

On 01st August 1932 the Prince of Wales and the President of France inaugurated the Thiepval Memorial in Picardy. The inscription reads: “Here are recorded the names of officers and men of the British Armies who fell on the Somme battlefields between July 1915 and March 1918 but to whom the fortune of war denied the known and honoured burial given to their comrades in death.”

In this time of anguish, his parents suffered further loss when their daughter Haidee died aged 19 in December 1916.

The 17^th Bn War Diary describes the action on 12th October 1916 during the Battle of Transloy Ridge –                                               

11-10-16 - Gird Trench/Gird Support – Battalion in front line and support trenches. British bombardment of enemy front line system commenced about midday.  Hostile shelling was intermittent throughout the day.

12-10-16  - Our bombardment continued. Enemy reply weak.  2.5 p.m. Zero hour. Attack on German front line system commenced.  Enemy wire was found to be uncut and attack was unsuccessful.  Hostile machine gun fire was very heavy and caused many casualties. Battalion H.Q. and Support Trench were heavily shelled throughout afternoon and evening. […] During this action all communication had to be carried out by runners and carrier pigeons as all wires were being continually cut by enemy shelling.

Casualties: 5 officers killed,  5 officers wounded, 38 OR killed, about 225 OR wounded/missing etc.

Graham Maddocks, in “Liverpool Pals” p.140, adds: “As the whistle blew, the 17^th Battalion left its trenches to move forward.  […]  As soon as the attacking waves left their trenches the enemy artillery began to register on them, and at the same time, the defending infantry commenced a murderous rain of fire.  […]  Although their numbers had been depleted by the British bombardment, they were trained and experienced soldiers, well dug in on high ground, and for the most part, looking out on uncut wire.  As such, it was virtually impossible for them to miss the City Battalion men struggling to advance in the mud towards them.   The 17^th Battalion, on the left, was particularly badly hit, as its portion of No Man’s Land contained a slight rise in the ground, and as the troops emerged onto it they were silhouetted against the sky and became easy targets.  Those on the left of the attack, who managed to avoid the hail of bullets and make it to the German wire, then found that it was totally uncut, and thus trapped, they too became easy targets, to be picked off almost at the enemy’s will.  It was hardly surprising that, seeing the first waves being wiped out, some of the following waves turned back and made for their start lines. These lines were now packed with other waves of troops, however, and the fleeing men added to the congestion already there, and became easy prey for the German gunners.  There is some evidence also, to suggest that at this stage, the British trenches were also being hit by their own heavy artillery shells which were falling short.”

John earned his three medals. In August 1919 his parents received his personal effects: 1 (identity)disc.  His parents received his effects, including a War Gratuity of £9 and a pension of 4/6d a week, their address 41 Burleigh Rd South, Liverpool. 

John is commemorated on Liverpool’s Hall of Remembrance, Panel 66.

Pension card states mother Elizabeth died on the 10^th March 1924, she was aged 58.

The father John, dob 24^th April 1864, a retired ships cook, appears on the 1939 register living at 19 Burleigh Rd with his married daughter Mabel Guy. 

We currently have no further information on John Albert Jones, if you have or know someone who may be able to add to the history of this soldier, please contact