George Jones
Memorial: Thornbury - St Mary's Church
Regiment: Royal Navy
Rank and number: Able Seaman 134970
Parents: Henry and Ruth Jones
Marital status: Single
Home address: Crossways Lane, Thornbury, Bristol
Pre-war occupation: Royal Navy Seaman
Date of birth: 20/06/1870
Place of birth: Thornbury, Bristol
Date of death: 07/10/1915
Buried/Commemorated at: Thornbury Cemetery (Church. 494.), Bristol
Age: 45
Further information:
Bronze Tablet and Wooden Memorial Board
George Jones was born in Thornbury on 20th June 1870, the son of Henry Jones, a farm labourer, and his wife, Ruth. Having lived at the Hackett, the family moved to Crossways Lane where Henry became a farmer on his own account. George had three siblings but two died. His surviving sister was called Kate
George joined the Royal Navy at the age of 14, having been a farm labourer. On 20th June 1888 he enlisted for a further period, initially of 12 years. At that time he was 5ft 3¼ inches tall (later he would grow to 5ft 6 ½ inches). He had brown hair, hazel eyes and a fresh complexion. He continued in the service until August 1910 when he was retired with a shore pension. During this period he served on numerous ships including Impregnable, Ganges, Dreadnought, Cruiser, Excellent, Victory, Nelson, and Majestic. His character varied from fair (when he was punished for disobedience of orders) to very good. He did have three short periods in the cells, the longest for 10 days
After his retirement, George remained in the Royal Fleet Reserve (R.F.R./P.O./A./2941). His Port Division was Portsmouth. When the First World War broke out George was recalled to the Navy and served again on H.M.S. Excellent and H.M.S. Victory I, a shore establishment
George drowned on 7th October 1915 in Roach Basin Lock, Queen Alexandra Dock, in Cardiff. He was described as a Chief Gunner. The inquest into his death reported that it was an accident. He had been heading to join his ship bound for Africa. At 10.15p.m. George had passed the guard on the gate who remembered that he was quite sober. Another witness heard a splash in the water and heard a voice. A life belt was thrown in but, as it was dark, no-one could see clearly what happened. The Coroner noted that the lights around the docks had been considerably diminished to comply with military precautions
George was buried in Thornbury Cemetery on 13th October 1915, his coffin covered in a Union Jack for the service. Among the wreaths were those of his sorrowing mother and his sister, Kate
George’s cousin, Albert Andrews of H.M.S. Albion is also commemorated on this memorial
By kind permission, this information is based on the following source(s):
Thornbury Roots Website. Thornbury and District Museum Research Group and the CWGC