Charles Francis Jones
Memorial: Marshfield - High Street
Regiment: Gloucestershire Regiment
Medals: British War Medal, Next of Kin Memorial Plaque 1914 - 1921, Victory Medal
Rank and number: Private 6258
Parents: Mr C Jones
Marital status: Single
Home address: 2 Springfield Cottages, Marshfield, Glos
Pre-war occupation: Farm Labourer
Date of birth: 1883
Place of birth: Marshfield, Glos
Date of death: 23/04/1916
Buried/Commemorated at: Thiepval Memorial, Somme, France
Age: 33
Further information:
Charles Francis Jones was 31 when he enlisted to join the Gloucestershire Regiment on 31st August 1914. Unmarried, a farm labourer he lived with his elderly parents at 2 Springfield Cottages. He was posted to the 1st Battalion of the Gloucestershire Regiment early in 1915. During that year he took part in the battles of Aubers and Loos. The start of 1916 saw Private Jones back in the trenches after relieving elements of the South Wales Borderers. Five days later he went back into reserve and then marched to the railway head and entrained for Lillers, a town amid the French coalfields and then into billets at Rambert and then Cauchy. For six weeks the regiment was out of the line recuperating and training. On one memorable day the regiment was inspected by Marshal Joffre, commander of all the Allied armies. In mid February they returned to the trenches near Loos. The front was quiet and the Glosters settled into a routine of 4 days in the front line, 4 days in reserve and 4 days in billets, usually out of harm’s way. The routine continued throughout March, albeit with one or two bombing raids, although on 10th March Jones experienced heavy shelling, 25 men being buried for almost 24 hours before they were dug out, all had survived. All of this time fresh drafts arrived from England and were quietly taken under the wing of experienced soldiers such as Charles Jones and integrated into the regiment and learnt the facts of life and survival techniques in the trenches. In April the same routine continued until the regiment moved into Divisional Reserve at Les Brebis and were looking forward to a spell of rest in comfortable billets. That afternoon the battalion War Diary states: “about 2pm our billets were slightly shelled and two shells caused casualties, 3 men wounded and 1 man killed”. That man was Private Charles Jones. He is buried at Bully-Grenay Communal Cemetery
By kind permission, this information is based on the following source(s):
https://allaroundmarshfieldorg.wordpress.com/world-war-1-remembrance-stories/