John Edward's Story.
EARLY LIFE
John Edward Jones was born on 2 December 1892 and baptised at Christ Church, Macclesfield on 11 January 1893, the son of Annie Elizabeth and Samuel Jones, a painter of 58 Oxford Road, Macclesfield.
In 1901, eight-year-old John Edward Jones was living at 16 Francis Street, Macclesfield with his parents and siblings Alice (5), Eleanor (1) and one-week-old baby Frank. By 1911 the family had moved to 16 Frances Street, Oxford Road, Macclesfield and also included Elizabeth (7), Annie (4) and Gladys (9 months). Eighteen-year-old John was employed as a silk dyer and was the only surviving son.
WW1 SERVICE
John enlisted in Macclesfield on 6 October 1916 and was drafted out to France the following February. He was wounded in the knee in June 1917 and returned to his battalion after hospital treatment, but was killed in action on 10 August 1917.
The death of Private Jones was reported in the Macclesfield Times on 31 August 1917:
AN ONLY SON - CROMPTON ROAD SCHOLAR'S DEATH
Mr S Jones, 16 Frances Street, off Oxford Road, Macclesfield, has received an official intimation stating that his son, Private John Edward Jones, Cheshire Regt., was killed in action in France on August 10th. Twenty-four years of age, Private Jones was a native of Macclesfield and attended Crompton Road School. He was also connected with the Sunday-school. Before enlisting, on October 6th, 1916, he was employed at Messrs Abraham's Dyeworks. Drafted out to France in February of this year, Private Jones was wounded in the knee at Messines Ridge, but after receiving hospital treatment returned to the firing line. He was an only son and single, and a member of the Independent Labour Party Club. His uncle, Private J Cork, Cheshire Regt., has been serving for nearly two years.
COMMEMORATION
Private John Jones has no known grave and is commemorated on Panel Ref. 19 - 22 on the Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial in Belgium. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission holds casualty details for Private John Jones, and he is listed on the Imperial War Museum’s Lives of the First World War website.
Locally, Private John Jones is commemorated on the Macclesfield Park Green (listed as J D Jones), Town Hall, St Michael's Church and St Andrew's Church war memorials. He is also remembered on a family grave in Macclesfield Cemetery, plot Z 6655.
SOURCES
GRO (England & Wales) Index: Births
Cheshire Parish Baptism Registers: Christ Church, Macclesfield
Census (England & Wales): 1901, 1911
Commonwealth War Graves Commission website
Lives of the First World War website
Macclesfield Times: 31 August 1917
Research by Rosie Rowley, Macclesfield.