Thomas John Jones – Royal Naval Reserve, H.M.S. Victory

Trimmer Thomas John Jones – Royal Naval Reserve, H.M.S. Victory

Thomas John Jones was born in 1879 in Swansea, the son of Mr. and Mrs. William Jones, and later the husband of Margaret Ann Williams. His early life is not well documented in surviving civilian records, but his family roots lay firmly within the Morriston and wider Swansea community.

Military Service

Thomas served as a Trimmer with the Royal Naval Reserve, attached to H.M.S. Victory, the long‑established shore establishment at Portsmouth which acted as a central administrative base for thousands of naval personnel during the First World War. Trimmers were responsible for managing coal in the bunkers of naval vessels—hard, physically demanding work essential to keeping ships operational.

Death and Burial

British Army and Navy Birth, Marriage and Death Records

According to the British Army and Navy Birth, Marriage and Death Records, Thomas died on 3 November 1918 from influenza and pneumonia at the Royal Navy Sick Quarters, Newhaven, during the final days of the First World War and amid the devastating global influenza pandemic. His body was brought home to Swansea and laid to rest at Seion Welsh Baptist Chapel, Morriston, where his grave forms part of the chapel’s First World War memorial landscape.