There is no Flintshire WW1 Index card for James. Perhaps because the family lived in Erbistock which is on the edges of different counties, part of Flintshire Detached, Denbighshire, Wrexham and Cheshire surrounding it. However there is a Pte. J. Jones on the Overton War Memorial and as James Jones possibly fits the bill, I will include him here. Please bear in mind this might not be the right soldier. (His Commonwealth war Grave Certificate, however, suggests that this could well be our man. See link above left).)
James Jones was the son of Thomas and Margaret Jones (nee Walker), who, I believe, had married in a civil ceremony in Wrexham (Wrexham County Borough (Wrexham) WM/021/65) in 1878. The first time James was recorded on a census was in 1901. He was living with his family at Twinning Hill Cottages, Erbistock, Denbighshire. Head of the household was Thomas Jones, 46, a Woodman on the Estate. He had been born in Eyton, Denbighshire. Margaret, 42, his wife, had been born in Hanmer according to this census. It is different on a subsequent one. The listed children were Kate 14, Jessie 12, William 11, Minnie 10, James, 7 and baby Charles 11 months. They had all been born in Erbistock. Also in the household was Margaret’s father Thomas Walker, a widower aged 66 who was a retired Blacksmith originally from Worthenbury, Flintshire.
By the 1911 census there were fewer members of the family recorded in Twinning Hill Cottages, Erbistock, Denbighshire. Thomas had died in the intervening years so Margaret was then a widow, aged 51. On this census, she states she was born in Hanley, Cheshire. The listed ‘children’ in the household were Minnie who was 20 and a General Domestic Servant. James, 17, was a “Labourer in Woods,” “ Ranger” written by the side of his occupation. Charles was 10 and a niece, Gladys Jones, aged 1 completed the household.
UK, Soldiers who Died in the Great War, 1914-1919 (Ancestry) confirms his regimental number above and states his regiment as Yorkshire Hussars (Alexandra, Princes of Wales’ Own) 7th Bn. (It is this source that tells us that he was formerly in the Royal Field Artillery, Regimental Number 160621). He was born in Erbistock, Denbighshire, but his residence was in Overton Bridge, near Ruabon, Denbighshire. He enlisted in Ruabon.
The UK, Army Registers of Soldiers’ Effects, 1901-1929 in which the army calculated what moneys were owed to deceased soldiers, includes an entry for James Jones. It tells us his sole Legatee was his mother Margaret who was paid £9 8s 2d on the 22nd May 1918 and his War Gratuity of £4 10s on the 22nd November 1919. Also 7/2d was recharged to the Regimental Paymaster, York, on the 26th April 1918. (Possibly overpaid).
His Medal Rolls Index Cards, 1914-1920 lists his medals and states “Dead” on the card.
If anyone can give any more details for us to add to James’s story, please contact the website.