Hugh Jones

Serjeant Hugh Jones – Military Police Corps

Early Life

Hugh Jones was born in 1881 in Crewe. Unfortunately, there are very few surviving records to detail his early life or upbringing.

Marriage and Family

In 1918, during the final year of the First World War, Hugh married Alice L. Rowland at Dudley, Worcestershire. Their time together was tragically brief.

The couple’s only child, Marie Eveline Jones, was born the following year in 1919, after her father’s death.

1921 Census

The 1921 Census records that Alice, then widowed, and young Marie were living at 29 Mansel Street, Swansea.

Service and Death

Hugh served with the Military Police Corps, one of the essential supporting branches of the army responsible for discipline, order, and security across the British Army. His duties would have ranged from traffic control and guarding prisoners of war to policing army camps.

Despite the war officially ending on 11^th November 1918 with the Armistice, the losses did not immediately cease. Hugh was among those who did not live to see peace restored. He died on the 13^th of November 1918, just two days after the guns fell silent.

Burial

Hugh Jones
Danygraig Cemetery
credit - findagrave

Following his death, Hugh’s body was brought back to Swansea for burial at Danygraig Cemetery. The South Wales Daily Post reported on his funeral, which was described as simple yet dignified. Family, friends, and comrades gathered to pay their respects to a man who had served through to the very end of the war, only to pass away at the very moment peace had been declared.

His grave was marked with a military headstone, carrying both his name and regiment, ensuring that his service and sacrifice would not be forgotten. The timing of his burial, coming so soon after the Armistice celebrations, must have been especially bittersweet for his widow Alice and their extended family.

Legacy

The death of Serjeant Hugh Jones is a poignant reminder that the end of the war did not mean the end of suffering. Many servicemen continued to die from wounds, illness, or the lingering effects of their service after the Armistice. Hugh’s story reflects this difficult truth.

Though he did not live to raise his daughter, his service and sacrifice are preserved not only in his military record and burial but also in the enduring memory of families like his who faced the war’s consequences long after the fighting ended.