Arthur Ernest Jones – Rifle Brigade, 11th Battalion

Corporal Arthur Ernest Jones – Rifle Brigade, 11^th Battalion

Family Background

Arthur Ernest Jones

Arthur Ernest Jones was born in 1895 in Oystermouth, the son of David and Mary Jones, who had married in 1876.

1901 Census

In 1901 Census, the Jones family were living at 1 Forgefield Road, Oystermouth.
David, aged 53, was employed as a Stone Quarryman, while his wife Mary, aged 48, managed the household. Their children present were William H. (20), working as a Domestic Gardener; Johnnie (14); Leonard (11); and Arthur (6)—all attending school—along with Alfred (3), the youngest.

1911 Census

By 1911 Census, the family remained at 1 Forgefield Road.
David, now 63, was recorded as a Quarryman Hewer, and Mary, aged 58, continued to run the home. Only two children were still living with them: Arthur (16), employed as a Railway Agent’s Clerk, and Alfred (13), still attending school.

Military Service and Death

Attestation Papers

Arthur’s Attestation Papers confirm that he enlisted as a Rifleman in the Rifle Brigade, 11th Battalion, in September 1915. In February 1916, he married Mabel Davies, and later that same month he was promoted to Acting Corporal, reflecting his ability and growing responsibility within his unit.

Army Registers of Soldiers’ Effects

The Army Registers of Soldiers’ Effects, which record the settlement of a soldier’s outstanding pay and allowances following their death, note that Corporal Arthur Ernest Jones was killed in action on 16^th June 1916. These registers provide not only financial details but also official confirmation of the date and circumstances under which soldiers died during the war.

In the months leading to his death, the 11^th Battalion, Rifle Brigade was serving in the Ypres Salient, one of the most dangerous sectors of the Western Front. Although June 1916 preceded the major battles of the Somme, the battalion was engaged in the relentless daily warfare characteristic of the Salient: holding front-line trenches, repairing parapets damaged by shellfire, enduring heavy German artillery and trench-mortar bombardments, and facing sniper and machine-gun fire. German forces intensified their activity in this area to pin down British divisions preparing for the Somme offensive.

Arthur Ernest Jones
Vlamertinghe Military Cemetery, Belgium
credit - findagrave

On 16^th June 1916, the battalion suffered casualties during one such period of intense bombardment and trench action. Arthur’s burial at Vlamertinghe Military Cemetery, used by field ambulances positioned just behind the lines, indicates that he fell in or near the front trenches during these hazardous operations.

Robert William Perrett and Mabel Jones
marriage certificate
All Saints Church, Oystermouth

Following Arthur’s death, his widow Mabel remarried in 1922, to Robert William Perrett, at All Saints Church, Oystermouth.
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission records that Mabel was associated with the Gladstone Restaurant, Mumbles, at the time of Arthur’s commemoration.

Historical Note: The Gladstone Restaurant, Mumbles

The Gladstone Restaurant, with which Mabel was later connected, shared its name with an earlier and well-regarded local establishment sometimes known as the Old Gladstone Restaurant. This earlier venue became locally known for its Carpetbag steak—a thick beef steak stuffed with fresh oysters, drawing on the once-thriving oyster fishery of Mumbles and Swansea Bay. Although the exact link between the later restaurant and the original Old Gladstone Restaurant is unclear, the continuity of the name suggests a connection with Mumbles’ maritime and culinary heritage.