Haydon Thomas Jones – Monmouthshire Regiment, 3rd Battalion

 

Private Haydon Thomas Jones – Monmouthshire Regiment, 3rd Battalion

The earliest Second World War burial at Mynyddbach Congregational Chapel is that of Haydon Thomas Jones, whose name marks the beginning of the chapel’s wartime roll of honour.

Early Life

Haydon Thomas Jones was born in 1917 in Glamorgan, the son of Thomas Jones and Susan Jones. Very few official civilian records survive for Haydon, and much of his early life remains undocumented in surviving archives.

Military Service

Haydon served as a Private with the Monmouthshire Regiment, 3rd Battalion, a Territorial Army unit that undertook home defence duties and intensive training throughout the early years of the war.

Death During Training

Haydon died on 11 June 1941 at Belfast, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, following a tragic training accident.

The 3rd Battalion had been ordered to carry out a training exercise off the Shore Road, Rostrevor. Soldiers were dispatched in boats and, weighed down by full uniform and equipment, were required to enter deep water without life preservers. Cold, cramped, and fatigued from long hours seated in the boats, several men immediately struggled upon entering the water.

The first six soldiers were seen to be in difficulty, unable to reach the shore safely. Despite efforts to assist them, all six drowned. Their bodies were recovered and transported from Rostrevor on 16 July, then taken onward to Belfast for repatriation to Britain.

Haydon Thomas Jones
Mynyddbach Congregational Chapel credit - findagrave

Burial

Haydon’s body was brought home to Swansea, where he was laid to rest at Mynyddbach Congregational Chapel, becoming the first Second World War burial at the chapel.