2. Step 1:
Check the website of the Commonwealth War
Graves Commission –
http://www.cwgc.org/find-a-
cemetery/cemetery/2096913/Rethel%20French
%20National%20Cemetery
We learned that the cemetery has graves from
WW1 – almost 3, 000 graves of French soldiers,
and some for soldiers from other countries.
3. Step 2: Is there a Welsh connection?
110 graves are for UK soldiers, and 3 of these
served with Welsh regiments. When men
enlisted into the army, they usually tried to join
a local regiment so that they would be with
friends and neighbours. During the course of the
war, soldiers could be moved between
regiments, but we decided to focus on these
three men for our investigation.
4. Step 3: H. Jones – details from CWGC
What details can we find out about H. Jones on
the Commonwealth War Graves Commission
website?
5. Information from the Commonwealth
War Graves site
H. Jones served with the Royal Welsh Fusiliers.
He died on 4th
June, 1918, aged 20, and is buried
in grave number 1725.
6. Information on H. Jones
Now we know that H. Jones was a Private
who served with the 9th
Battalion of the
Royal Welsh Fusiliers. His Regimental
number was 203964.
He was 20 when he died on 4th
June, 1918.
He is buried in grave number 1725.
His mother is listed as Mrs. Catherine
Jones of Pen Rollt, Isaf, Llanbeulan,
Anglesey.
As Private Jones’ father is not mentioned,
he has probably died before his son was
buried in Rethel..
NB – soldiers who died in WW1 were
often buried in a temporary grave before
they were reburied in an official war
grave.
The Regimental number was unique to
each soldier. Even though Jones is a very
common name, this information will help
us to identify “our” H. Jones in military
records.
7. Hugh Jones was originally buried in the German Cemetery in Reims.
This document shows that he was reburied in a permanent grave in the French
National Cemetery in Rethel in 1923.
8. Grave Registration
Relatives needed to know that the
graves of their dead soldiers were
being looked after – it would have
been very difficult for them to visit the
graves themselves.
The Commonwealth War Graves
Commission “ensures that 1.7 million
people who died in the two world
wars will never be forgotten. We care
for cemeteries and memorials at
23,000 locations, in 154 countries. Our
values and aims, laid out in 1917, are
as relevant now as they were almost
100 years ago..”
This document shows us that in 1924 ,
the grave of H. Jones was included in a
survey to make sure that all the details
were correct.
10. Step 4:
Can we use H. Jones’ Regimental number to find
out more about him?
A lot (60%) of records from WW1 were
destroyed in bombing during WW2, but those
that still exist can be found online at the
National Archives and on genealogy research
sites.
11. Record of Service Paper
Although there were a lot of records
for “H. Jones,” the unique regimental
number helped us to be sure we had
found the correct record.
Now we know that we are researching
Hugh Jones. He was working as a farm
hand when he enlisted on 19th
February, 1917. His address was Ty
Mawr, and the village was probably
Llanbeulan (there is a spelling mistake
on the form, but we know his mother
was living in Llanbeulan, (from the
grave records) near Ty Croes. Ty
Mawr is probably the farm where he
worked, though it could be his family
home.
Hugh said his age was 18 years, 11
months, which means he was probably
born around January, 1898. However,
teenage boys sometimes lied about
their age so they could join the forces
even though they were too young to
be allowed to. Knowing his birth year
will help us to find out more about
him.
12. Step 5: explore the census records
A census was taken every 10 years to find out
how many people lived in the country.
We know Hugh Jones’ birth year (probably) and
we know his mother’s name and the place he
was living in 1917. Will this be enough to find
out about his family on the 1901 and 1911
censi?
13.
14.
15.
16. What did we learn from the censi?
Hugh lived near Ty Mawr, the farm given as his
address when he enlisted. So Ty Mawr was
probably the farm where he worked.
Hugh’s father was also called Hugh, and he was
an agricultural worker looking after cattle.
In 1911, 13-year old Hugh was described as only
speaking Welsh, like both his parents.
By 1911, Hugh’s parents had had 9 children, and
6 of them had already died.
17. What questions could we ask now?
Did Hugh’s older brother, Owen, serve in the
war? Did he survive?
Why did so many of Hugh’s siblings die young?
Does this give us a clue about living conditions
for agricultural workers in Anglesey at this time?
Did Hugh’s sister Catherine survive and have
descendants?
Can we trace any descendants of Hugh’s
surviving siblings?
18. Step 6: birth details
With the information we have, can we trace
Hugh Jones’ birth certificate?
19. Baptism record
On Findmypast.co.uk, we found Hugh
Jones’ baptism record.
He was baptised in the Parish of
Llanbeulan on 24th
July, 1898. His
parents were Hugh and Catherine
Jones of Penrallt Isaf, and his father
worked as a labourer.
20. Step 7: What evidence can we find
about his life?
What questions could we ask?
Where is Llanbeulan?
Is Ty Mawr still a farm?
What was it like to be a farm hand in the
years before the war?
Is there anyone who might have a
photograph of Hugh Jones?
21. Step 8: Hugh Jones’ war service
Regiments are divided into battalions, and Hugh
Jones started off in the 4th
battalion. When
soldiers died, their places were taken by new
recruits or by transfers from other battalions.
Hugh Jones was serving with the 9th
battalion
when he died. Some official “war diaries” have
survived, which tell us what battalions were
doing day by day. If we can we trace one for the
9th
Battalion, we might find out where Hugh
Jones died.
22. 9th
Battalion in WW1
9th (Service) Battalion
09.09.1914 Formed at Wrexham as part of the Second New Army (K2) then moved to Tidworth to join
the 58th Brigade of the 19th Division and then moved to Basingstoke.
Mar 1915 Moved back to Tidworth.
19.07.1915 Mobilised for war and landed at Boulogne and engaged in various actions on the Western
Front including;
1915
The Action of Pietre; diversionary action during the Battle of Loos
1916
The Battle of Albert, The attacks on High Wood, The Battle of Pozieres Ridge, The Battle of the Ancre
Heights, The Battle of the Ancre.
1917
The Battle of Messines, The Battle of the Menin Road Ridge, The Battle of Polygon Wood, The Battle of
Broodseinde, The Battle of Poelcapelle, First Battle of Passchendaele, The Second Battle of
Passchendaele.
1918
The Battle of St Quentin, The Battle of Bapaume, The Battle of Messines, The Battle of Bailleul, The First
Battle of Kemmel Ridge, The Battle of the Aisne, The Battle of the Selle, The Battle of the Sambre and
the passage of the Grand Honelle.
11.11.1918 Ended the war at Eth west of Bavai, France.
https://www.forces-war-records.co.uk/units/317/royal-welsh-fusiliers/
23. 3rd
Battle of the Aisne
Chemin des Dames
•The Battle of the Aisne 1918
•27 May - 6 June 1918
Hugh Jones died on 4th
June, 1918 – was he a
casualty of the 3rd
Battle of the Aisne?
24. What about the other soldiers?
Now we need to repeat Steps 3 – for the other
soldiers we are investigating.
