Harold Jones

Harold Jones was found fatally injured at the Clarence Road Bridge, Cardiff, on Christmas night, 25 December 1917 and later died in hospital from his injuries.

He had been a lieutenant in the Royal Defence Corps in Cardiff and had seen service in Flanders, France.

He was found unconscious shortly before midnight on Christmas day and died in hospital about noon the following day without regaining consciousness.

Foul play was suspected.

The back of his head was battered in as if struck with some heavy blunt weapon and his jaw was broken. His cause of death was given as a fracture to the base of the skull. It was said that his injuries might have been received by him falling and striking his head against some object, but that if he was hit on the side of the head that it must have been with some kind of blunt instrument. A Captain in the Royal Army Medical Corps that examined his body said that he would not have expected all of his injuries to have been caused by a mere fall, noting that a kick on the side of the head would have caused his fracture.

Harold Jones had spent the day with friends in Rawden Place, and had later gone down to the docks with a son of his host who had then parted with him about half an hour before he was found.

After he parted with the friend he was said to have got into an argument with a soldier. A witness said that Harold Jones had demanded to see the soldiers pass. The witness said that the soldier resented the way that he had been asked and that the soldier told Harold Jones that he was on leave from France. They were then said to have got to blows. The witness said that he did his best to separate them and that Harold Jones then fell and the soldier ran off.

The police were unable to identify who the soldier was although they said that he did leave behind a part of his equipment that was thought would have his regimental number on it. A similar part of Harold Jones's uniform was also missing and the police searched the Glamorganshire Canal for either or both of the articles. It was said that that item would have been the only clue as to the identity of the soldier.

His inquest, which was held in Cardiff on Tuesday 22 January 1918 returned a verdict of 'Manslaughter against some person or persons unknown'.

Harold Jones was originally from Orange Hill Road in Prestwich, Manchester and had only just come to Cardiff. He was married and had been a draughtsman in civil life and had worked for the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Company. He was also said to have done many years’ service in the Auxiliary Forces and at one time served in the Submarine Engineers Corps at Liverpool and Blackpool. It was said that at the outbreak of the war that he had been in the National Reserve after which he had joined the ranks of a Manchester territorial unit in one of the supernumerary companies that were formed at the time after which he was transferred to the Royal Defence Corps when it came into existence in April 1916.

It was in the Royal Defence Corps that he had been serving in whilst in Cardiff at the docks prior to July 1916 but he had also served with the Royal Defence Corps elsewhere in the country. In July 1916 he had been transferred to another company in Pembroke but a few weeks before his death he had come back to the Royal Defence Corps in Cardiff.

His brother said that he was a most kindly, genial man and quite unlikely to make enemies.

His widow said that he was a man of temperate habits and never gave way to drink but that generally speaking he was of an excitable temperament.

Harold Jones was described as being very popular among his brother officers and had also been a messing officer and on Tuesday had assisted the other officers in waiting on the men at their Christmas dinner.

His funeral was said to have taken place in Heaton Park.