William Jones

 During the First World War, six men named William Jones are recorded as having died. This presents a challenge for researchers, as Jones was one of the most common surnames in Wales, and the available military and civil records often provide limited detail.

It is therefore difficult to establish with certainty which of these men had a direct connection to Sketty, and which individual is commemorated on the St. Paul’s memorial. Census returns, service records, and regimental histories can sometimes help to clarify these links, but in many cases soldiers named William Jones appear in the records without enough distinguishing information to tie them to a particular family or parish.

This problem highlights a wider issue faced in memorial research: many communities in South Wales had multiple men with identical names serving at the same time, often in different regiments. Without further family information or local documentation, confirming their exact identity remains an ongoing challenge.