Loftus William Jones

Commander Loftus William Jones VC (13 November 1879 -31 May 1916) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.

Details

He was 36 years old, and a Commander in the Royal Navy during the First World War when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC.

On 31 May 1916, at the Battle of Jutland, off Denmark, Commander Jones of HMS "Shark", led a division of destroyers to attack the enemy Battle Cruiser Squadron. In the course of this attack "Shark" became disabled by shell-fire and was lying helpless between two enemy fleets. Commander Jones was badly wounded in the leg, but with the help of three surviving seamen one of which was Charles Herbert Smith [DSM] he kept the midships gun in action until he was hit by a shell which took off his leg. The continued fire directly led to the sinking of the Imperial German Torpedo Boat SMS V48. He continued, however, to give orders to his gun's crew, until "Shark" was hit by a torpedo launched by SMS S54 and sank. Commander Jones was not among the survivors.

Further information

Commander Jones' body was washed ashore some days after the battle - in Western Sweden. He was originally buried at Fiskebäckskil, Västra Götaland, Sweden. His body was transferred to the British War Graves plot in Kviberg Cemetery, Gothenburg, in 1961.

The medal

Royal Naval Museum - Portsmouth, Hampshire, England (2003)

References

*Monuments to Courage (David Harvey, 1999)
*The Register of the Victoria Cross (This England, 1997)
*VCs of the First World War - The Naval VCs (Stephen Snelling, 2002)

External links

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