William Jones – Royal Air Force

Private William Jones – Royal Air Force

Background and Family

The surviving information relating to Private William Jones is limited to records held by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. He was born in 1877 at Ystalyfera, and was the son of Rees Jones and Ann Jones. He later married Margaret Ann Jones.

Military Service

Private William Jones served with the Royal Air Force during the latter stages of the First World War. By November 1918, the Royal Air Force maintained an established presence in Greece, primarily in support of Allied operations on the Salonika (Macedonian) Front. British air operations in the region had begun earlier in the war under the Royal Flying Corps and Royal Naval Air Service, and were unified under the RAF following its formation in April 1918.

Following the Bulgarian armistice on 29^th September 1918, active combat in the region largely ceased. However, RAF units remained operational throughout October and November 1918, carrying out patrols, administrative duties, transport flights, and supporting the occupation and stabilisation of the region.

Illness, Death, and Medical Context

Servicemen who became seriously ill or succumbed to wounds were treated in military hospitals around Salonika (modern Thessaloniki) and its surrounding districts, including Kalamaria, where Mikra British Cemetery is located. Many deaths recorded in November 1918, including those occurring after the Armistice, resulted from wounds sustained earlier in the campaign, infectious diseases, including the 1918 influenza pandemic, and complications arising from prolonged service under harsh climatic and medical conditions in the region.

Private William Jones died from wounds on 21^st November 1918, ten days after the Armistice brought an end to hostilities in Western Europe.

Burial and Commemoration

William Jones
Mikra British Cemetery, Kalamaria, Greece
credit - findagrave

Private William Jones is buried at Mikra British Cemetery, Kalamaria, among many British and Commonwealth servicemen who died while serving in the Salonika theatre. Though little is known of his individual service, his burial in Greece stands as a reminder that the consequences of the First World War continued to claim lives well after the fighting had officially ended, often far from home