Lt Col H Jones VC 2
Famous Sons and Daughters No: 6 - Lt Col Herbert “H” Jones
The Port of Dartmouth will be remembering fallen sons from the all too recent past as well as more distant conflicts as the Remembrance Day silence falls this year.
The death of one famous son of the Dart, who lost his life in conflict and was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross for his bravery, prompted his wife and family to work for veterans charities, and a memorial to his remarkable achievement is sited on the ferry slipway at his beloved Kingswear.
Lt Col Herbert “H” Jones was the most senior officer to be killed in the Falklands conflict. The 42-year-old, who commanded 2nd Battalion, the Parachute Regiment, died in a hail of gunfire as he charged an enemy trench.
His courageous act resulted in the awarding of the Victoria Cross, created by Queen Victoria in January 1856 to recognise acts of outstanding bravery.
Details of his endeavour were published in this citation in October 1982: “On 28 May 1982 Lieutenant Colonel Jones was commanding 2 Battalion The Parachute Regiment on operations on the Falkland Islands. The Battalion was ordered to attack enemy positions in and around the settlements of Darwin and Goose Green.
“During the attack against an enemy who was well dug in with mutually supporting positions sited in depth, the Battalion was held up just South of Darwin by a particularly well-prepared and resilient enemy position of at least eleven trenches on an important ridge. A number of casualties were received. In order to read the battle fully and to ensure that the momentum of his attack was not lost, Colonel Jones took forward his reconnaissance party to the foot of a re-entrant, which a section of his Battalion had just secured. Despite persistent, heavy and accurate fire the reconnaissance party gained the top of the re-entrant, at approximately the same height as the enemy positions. From here Colonel Jones encouraged the direction of his Battalion mortar fire, in an effort to neutralise the enemy positions. However, these had been well prepared and continued to our effective fire onto the Battalion advance, which, by now held up for over an hour and under increasingly heavy artillery fire, was in danger of faltering.
“In his effort to gain a good viewpoint, Colonel Jones was now at the very front of his Battalion. It was clear to him that desperate measures were needed in order to overcome the enemy position and rekindle the attack, and that unless these measures were taken promptly the Battalion would sustain increasing casualties and the attack perhaps even fail. It was time for personal leadership and action. Colonel Jones immediately seized a sub-machine gun, and, calling on those around him and with total disregard for his own safety charged the nearest enemy position. This action exposed him to fire from a number of trenches. As he charged up a short slope at the enemy position he was seen to fall and roll backward downhill. He immediately picked himself up, and again charged the enemy trench, firing his sub-machine gun and seemingly oblivious to the intense fire directed at him. He was hit by fire from another trench, which he outflanked, and fell dying only a few feet from the enemy he had assaulted. A short time later a company of the Battalion attacked the enemy who quickly surrendered. The devastating display of courage by Colonel Jones had completely undermined their will to fight further.
Thereafter, the momentum of the attack was rapidly regained, Darwin and Goose Green were liberated, and the Battalion released the local inhabitants unharmed and forced the surrender of some 1,200 of the enemy. The achievement of 2 Battalion The Parachute Regiment at Darwin and Goose Green set the tone for the subsequent land victory on the Falklands.”
Lt Col H Jones’ charge was described as “an action of the utmost gallantry by a Commanding Officer, whose dashing leadership and courage throughout the battle were an inspiration to all about him.”
This adventurous spirit was evident in the young H Jones’s childhood in Kingswear. Although born in Putney and educated in Sussex and at Eton, his family time was spent beside the Dart.
Memorials to his life and bravery can be found on the Lower Ferry slipway and in the church. At the time the slipway plaque was unveiled, his brother, retired Royal Navy Commander Timothy Jones, spoke of his brother’s love of Kingswear: “He loved Kingswear and … he enjoyed growing up here.
“We had a great childhood and we really enjoyed ourselves, although with the exuberance of youth we did overdo it sometimes. As growing boys we were a real trial to our parents and the local bobby, PC Bailey. But life was always exciting when H was around.”
Lt Col H Jones had always planned to retire to Kingswear. When he died he left his wife, Sara, and two young sons. Sara Jones stayed in Kingswear for many years and was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for her charity work. She is involved with a number of charities related to the armed forces, including chairing the trustees of the Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal.
Both of their sons, Lieutenant Colonel Rupert Jones MBE and David Jones served as infantry officers in the Devon and Dorsets, now merged into The Rifles, and Rupert was appointed MBE in 2001.
H Jones himself joined the British Army on leaving school and on graduation from the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst in 1960, was commissioned into the Devonshire and Dorset Regiment as a second lieutenant. He was promoted to lieutenant in 1962, captain in 1966, and major in 1972. In 1977 he was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for his services in Northern Ireland that year. In 1979 he was promoted lieutenant colonel and transferred to the Parachute Regiment. An OBE followed in 1981. The following year he was dead. He was buried at Ajax Bay on 30 May near where he fell. After the war his body was exhumed and buried at the Blue Beach War Cemetery in Port San Carlos.
Further reading:
www.thisiswesternmorningnews.co.uk/livingcornwall/Falklands-hero-British-military-greats
www.britains-smallwars.com/Falklands/vc.htm; www.victoriacross.org.uk
Official History of the Falklands Campaign: v. 2 (Whitehall Histories) by Lawrence Freedman
Battle Atlas of the Falklands War 1982 by Land, Sea and Air by Gordon Smith
The Falklands War, 1982 (Penguin Classic Military History) by Martin Middlebrook
H.Jones VC: The Life and Death of an Unusual Hero (Arrow Books Ltd) by John Wilsey
First published November 2009 By the Dart