John Ynys Palfery Jones – Welsh Regiment, 14th (Service) Battalion (Swansea)

Second Lieutenant John Ynys Palfery Jones – Welsh Regiment, 14^th (Service) Battalion (Swansea)

Family Background

John Ynys Palfery Jones was born in 1898 at Clydach, Glamorgan, the son of John Jones and Emily Jones.

1901 Census

At the time of the 1901 Census, the family were residing at Peny Bank House, Rhyndwyclydach, Clydach. John’s father was absent from the return, but Emily (25) was recorded at the property with her only child, John, aged two. Also present were two servants, Cecilia Evans (18) and Danford Davies (27).

1911 Census

By the 1911 Census, twelve-year-old John was a pupil at Cathedral School, Llandaff, Cardiff, reflecting a strong educational background.  He gained a place to student medicine at Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge Unviersity

Military Service

During the First World War, John was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Welsh Regiment, 14^th (Service) Battalion (Swansea).

On 30^th August 1918, the battalion was engaged in the rapid advance of the Hundred Days Offensive, as Allied forces pressed the retreating German Army across northern France. Although the enemy was falling back, resistance remained determined. The battalion took part in assaults against rearguard positions organised around villages, railway embankments, sunken roads, and fortified farms, all defended by machine-gun and artillery fire.

Operations at this stage required advancing across exposed ground, clearing strongpoints, and quickly consolidating captured positions to repel counter-attacks. Officers were expected to lead from the front, maintaining cohesion and direction amid fast-moving and often confused fighting conditions.

Death and Commemoration

John Ynys Palfery Jones
Morval British Cemetery, Pas de Calais, France
credit - findagrave

John was killed in action on 30^th August 1918. It was reported that he had previously been wounded but had refused transfer to a field hospital, choosing instead to remain with his men during the advance.  He was buried at Morval British Cemetery, Pas de Calais, France

His death occurred during the final months of the war, as the battalion continued its determined push toward victory on the Western Front