Albert Jones – Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, H.M.S. Laforey

 Signalman Albert Jones – Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, H.M.S. Laforey

Early Life

Signalman Albert Jones was born in 1896 in Upper Cwmtwrch, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Jones. Raised in a close‑knit Swansea Valley community, Albert would have grown up surrounded by the rhythms of village life before entering naval service during the First World War.

Naval Service

Albert enlisted in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (RNVR) and trained as a Signalman, a vital role responsible for ship‑to‑ship and ship‑to‑shore communications using flags, lamps, and early wireless signalling. He was posted to H.M.S. Laforey, a modern destroyer serving with the Royal Navy in actively contested waters.

Operational Service of H.M.S. Laforey

H.M.S. Laforey

Shortly after entering service, H.M.S. Laforey joined the Harwich Force, a key Royal Navy formation operating in the North Sea and the English Channel. The ship saw continuous action during the First World War.

One of her earliest major engagements was the Battle of Heligoland Bight in 1914, where Laforey fired 229 shells and two torpedoes during the opening naval encounter of the war. Following this, she carried out a wide range of duties, including anti‑submarine patrols, troopship escort missions, and the protection of vital maritime routes as part of the North Sea and Dover Patrols. 

In 1915, Laforey took part in the Battle off Noordhinder Bank, contributing to the destruction of German torpedo boats alongside several sister ships. By 1916 and 1917, the vessel was heavily engaged in escorting shipping across the English Channel, a region that had become increasingly hazardous due to extensive mine‑laying by both Allied and German forces.

The Loss of H.M.S. Laforey

Albert Jones
Plymouth Naval Memorial, Plymouth
credit - findagrave

On 23^rd March 1917, while returning from escorting cargo vessels between Folkestone and Boulogne, Laforey struck a British‑laid mine off the coast of France. The explosion tore the ship apart, causing the stern to sink immediately, while the bow remained afloat only briefly before also being lost. Of the ship’s company, only eighteen men survived the disaster.

Among those who tragically perished was Signalman Albert Jones, who was faithfully serving aboard the destroyer at the time