Gwynfor Jones – Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, Drake Battalion
Able Seaman Gwynfor Jones – Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, Drake Battalion
Early Life
Gwynfor Jones was born in 1899 in Swansea, the
son of Isaac Jones and Mary Edwards.
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| 1901 Census |
At the time of the 1901 Census, the Jones family were residing at New Road, Waunarlwydd, Swansea. Isaac, aged 30, born in Llanelly, was employed as a coal miner, and his wife Mary, also 30, was born in Carmarthenshire. Their children were Coslett, 5; Gwynfor, 2; and Olwen, 1. Also present in the household was Mary’s brother, Ivor Edwards, aged 22.
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| 1911 Census |
By the 1911 Census, the family had moved to Victoria Road, Waunarlwydd. Isaac, now 40, was working as a Colliery Rider Below, and Mary, also 40, was at home. Their children were Coslett, 15, employed as a Colliery Door Keeper; Gwynfor, 12; Olwen, 11; Mabel, 7; Iorwerth, 4; and Idris, 2.
Royal Naval Service
Gwynfor later enlisted in the Royal Naval Volunteer
Reserve, serving as an Able Seaman with the Drake Battalion
of the Royal Naval Division.
The Drake Battalion on 31st October 1917
By late October 1917, the Drake Battalion was deeply
involved in the Second Battle of Passchendaele, one of the final and
most gruelling phases of the Third Battle of Ypres. The battalion had endured
weeks of exhausting labour, constant shellfire, and appalling weather
conditions.
In the days leading up to 31st October,
the battalion had been assisting the 7th Canadian Railway Troops,
helping to construct and maintain crucial plank roads and light railways across
the shattered landscape around the Steenbeek and Langemarck Road.
These makeshift tracks were vital for bringing ammunition, rations, and medical
supplies forward through terrain that had become almost impassable.
On 31st October 1917, the Drake Battalion
returned to the front line as British and Dominion forces launched a renewed
assault toward Passchendaele Ridge. The battalion advanced under
relentless German artillery and machine‑gun fire, with the ground so
waterlogged that men frequently sank to their knees—or deeper—in the mud.
Movement was slow, visibility poor, and casualties mounted rapidly.
Contemporary accounts describe stretcher‑bearers struggling
to carry wounded men over two miles through waist‑deep mud before
reaching any form of medical aid. Many men who fell could not be recovered at
all. The date appears repeatedly in casualty lists for the Royal Naval
Division, reflecting the severe losses suffered during the day’s fighting.
Able Seaman Gwynfor Jones was among those who lost
their lives in these desperate conditions.
Burial
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| Gwynfor Jones St. Julien Dressing Station Cemetery, West‑Vlaanderen, Belgium credit - findagrave |
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