5th Midland Division, Army Cyclists Corps
Walter Thomas Jones was born in Gloucester in 1878, the son of Thomas and Mary Jones (née Wells). Both his parents died during the Great War, in 1914 and 1918 respectively. He would appear to have had two brothers, Percy Raymond (born 1883), John William (1876) and four sisters, Florence Mary Maud (1880), Ethel May (1886), Ethel Fanny (1889) and Beatrice L (1890).
On 24 December 1899 he married Lucy F Davis (a confectioner’s assistant) at Gloucester and according to the 1911 Census the couple had five children of whom three were living at that time. The three living were Kathleen Mary (born 1901), Ruth Doris (1906) and Ivy Lucy (1909) and a son, Percy Harold joined them later in 1911. The family lived at 77 Great Western Road, Gloucester and Walter’s occupation was a carpenter and builder
It has not proved possible to discover any information regarding Walter’s army service; no service record having survived. What is known is that he served with the Army Cyclist Corps and his low number of 167 is a strong indicator that he was serving in mid-1915 and therefore probably joined the Army in either late 1914 or early 1915. It has not been possible to find a Medal Index Card for him, which may indicate that he never served outside of the UK.
The Army Cyclist Corps mostly served at home, on coastal defence work but some groups did serve abroad.
The Gloucester Journal of 13 July 1918 carried a short funeral report, which stated that Walter had died on 1 July at Over Hospital after a long illness. He was 40 years old. A death notice in the Gloucestershire Chronicle of 13 July also stated that Walter’s brother, (51177) Shoeing Smith Corporal John William Jones, who served with 33 Battery, 33 Brigade, Royal Field Artillery had been killed in action in France on 28 May 1918.
Walter was buried in Gloucester Old Cemetery, where a standard CWGC headstone marks his grave. His widow, Lucy, lived until 1945.
Researched by Graham Adams 4 August 2019