Commonwealth War Grave St. John the Divine Churchyard

St. John the Divine Churchyard contains one Commonwealth war grave from the Second World War.

Richard Neville Kenward JONES. 128639. Captain. 484 Bty, 139 (M) H.A.A. Regt. Royal Artillery. Died 9 Apr 1942. Aged 47

Richard Jones had re-enlisted as a private in the Territorial Army and joined the Royal Artillery (as his father had been) before he was promoted to lieutenant for the second time in his career. His unit was very active in the defence of Liverpool during the Blitz of 1941. He succumbed to pulmonary tuberculosis.
However he had a very different career. A student of St Beghs School, he joined the schools cadet force which led to him joining the Army at the outbreak of WW1. No less than 987 'Old St Beghians' served in the Great War of whom 180 died. He was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Army Service Corp in September 1914 and was seconded to the RFC in July 1916 as a Flying Officer (Observer) in No 60 squadron, surviving a plane crash on take-off soon after. He later joined No 3 Squadron and teamed up with pilot Second Lieutenant Elmer Roberts with whom he flew many missions over the Somme battlefield. In 1917 he survived to crash landings in two days.
On the 17 July 1917 the supplement to the London Gazette recorded the award of the Military Cross in these words:
Temporary Lieutenant Richard Neville Kenward Jones, General List and Royal Flying Corps.
"For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. He has done consistent good work in the taking of photographs under very adverse weather conditions. By his perseverance and determination he has set a very high standard of efficiency in photographic work of his squadron."
On 17 April 1918 whilst serving with No 16 Squadron (a reconnaissance sqdn) he was wounded on patrol resulting in his evacuation to England. He returned to action in June 1918 and flew until suffering injuries from ground machine gun fire on 18th October.
In all he had survived over two years of flying on the Western Front.

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Source

• Text: Fedor de Vries
• Photos: Anthony (Sharky) Ward