David Jones VC

[Liverpool Lou]

I am researching my Great Uncle David Jones. He signed up for the Territorial Force (9th Bn KLR) in 1909 and was discharged in 1913. His service number was 1207. He signed up again in 1914, two weeks after declaration of war.

I know he ended up with 12th Bn KLR (service number 14951) but can anyone tell me, which battalion would he have signed up with in 1914 please? Would he have re enlisted in 9th Bn or would he have gone straight into 12th Bn? Does anyone know when 12th Bn was formed?

It has been suggested to me that the service number 14951 is quite late, how can I tell when it was issued? I have been unable to trace his sevice record for his service commencing in 1914.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Trisha

[ss002d6252]

I am researching my Great Uncle David Jones. He signed up for the Territorial Force (9th Bn KLR) in 1909 and was discharged in 1913. His service number was 1207. He signed up again in 1914, two weeks after declaration of war.

I know he ended up with 12th Bn KLR (service number 14951) but can anyone tell me, which battalion would he have signed up with in 1914 please? Would he have re enlisted in 9th Bn or would he have gone straight into 12th Bn? Does anyone know when 12th Bn was formed?

It has been suggested to me that the service number 14951 is quite late, how can I tell when it was issued? I have been unable to trace his sevice record for his service commencing in 1914.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Trisha

12th (Service) Battalion

Formed at Seaforth in September 1914 as part of K2 and attached as Army Troops to 20th (Light) Division.

January 1915 : transferred to 61st Brigade in same Division.

27 July 1915 : landed at Boulogne.

[Liverpool Lou]

Thanks ss002d6252 for you quick response!

That's very interesting as it means he must have signed up with another battalion first, but which one???

Trisha

[Chris_Baker]

Not necessarily. He may simply have been at the regimental depot, as yet unallotted to a battalion.

[Liverpool Lou]

Thanks Chris. If that was the case, do you know if would he have been given the service number immediately or once he joined the battalion?

Thanks

Trisha

[Ken Lees]

Trisha,

Where did you find the information that David had been a member of the 9th Battalion?

Ken

[Liverpool Lou]

Ken,

His service record is on Ancestry. I must have by passed it 100 times whilst searching for his service record under 14951. In my desparation to find it I started to look at every record for David Jones and that's when I discovered the one for 9th battalion. The year of birth is incorrectly shown as 1892 and it shows that the record starts at 1909. I always believed that he signed up for the first time in 1914 so I had dismissed it up untill then. The battalion number is slightly blurred but I am 99% certain it says 9th. Perhaps you could take a look. I can e mail a copy to you if necessary. (Have I discovered a previously unknown fact?)

Thanks

Trisha

[Liverpool Lou]

Just had another look. It is the 9th. It is clearly written at number 15 further down the page.

Trisha

[Ken Lees]

Trisha,

I certainly wasn't aware before, but I have just checked the Ancestry service record and that is definitely the 9th Battalion. Of course, without knowing the family details of the VC winner, I would never have made the connection between him and 1207 David Jones.

Thanks,

Ken

[Andrew Hesketh]

It has been suggested to me that the service number 14951 is quite late, how can I tell when it was issued?

I hesitate to dip into a thread that will attract experts for the KLR, but a number such as that with the Notts & Derby would have been quite early in the war. I would imagine that it would be relatively early for the KLR too (?).

[Ken Lees]

We await the intervention of Promenade who will, I'm sure, provide the answer (and more).

[Promenade]

All,

I have systematically been trawling through Ancestry pulling on areas of Liverpool and found Jones's papers by searching on Everton - I noticed the Blakes connection and thus linked him with Jones VC and entered the details in his record on the Kings WW1 database. I thought the TF connection was common knowledge as so many people have poured over everything to do with the VCs - (Ken - I also assumed that this is one that you knew all about and had added to your database - perhaps at some point we need to get together to compare notes!).

Anyway to answer the question as to when David Jones re-enlisted (he was discharged termination of engagement 7/6/13) - this was in Liverpool on Wed 2/9/14.

In October this year Jones's VC was presented to the Museum of Liverpool by the trustees of J Blake and Son. The medal had been given to Blake's by the Jones family - allegedly as his widow was not happy when the King's Regiment merged with the Manchester Regiment. A commemoration plaque which was erected in his honour at his old school in Heyworth St is now also part of the collections in the Museum of Liverpool.

Promenade

[Liverpool Lou]

Thanks everyone, for your interest and your help and to Promenade for confirming David Jones' re enlistment date. I was aware of the recent news about the VC being presented to the Museum by the trustees of Blake's. Last year I had the very great honour of holding his VC in my hand at a private viewing.

Trisha