210913 Rifleman Frederick George Jones British Army 12th Service Battalion Rifle Brigade from:Tooting (d.17th Sep 1916) Frederick George Jones was born at Peckham London in 1894. He was the second son of a George and Emily Martha Jones and came from a large family and had several sisters including my Grandmother, Gertrude Annie Jones. George's brother, Charles Jones, served with the East Surrey regiment and survived the war having suffered from frost bite early in 1915.
Fred worked as a pawn broker's assistant at Hyde's of Tooting before the war but joined up as one of Kitchner's Army (K2) when the war broke out.
Fred joined the Rifle Brigade and was assigned to the 12th Service Battalion leaving for France on the 27th October 1915.
He saw action with the Battalion in 1916 and at some point in 1916 was transferred to the 1st Battalion Kings Royal Rifle Corp. The story is told that he was sitting in the trenches near Heubeterne when the Germans peppered the front line trenches with shell fire. Fred and one other soldier were killed. The date was the 17th September 1916.
Fred was buried at the Military Cemetery in Heubeterne shortly after along with the other soldier killed on the same day Rifleman Attenborough. They both lie there still side by side. The 1st Battalion King's Royal Rifles war diary confirms that two ordinary ranks were killed on this date.
Fred was 23 years old when he was killed and he was greatly missed by his sisters, brothers and mother and father. My grandmother would stand each year on Remembrance Day the 11th November at 11 O clock and cry as she remembered her brother.
|