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Trooper John William Jones
Description
TitleTrooper John William JonesSummaryA soldier in World War One. DescriptionJohn was born at Selwyn on 18th November 1877, eldest son of Richard and Rebecca Jones. Before enlisting he was working as a farm hand for Capon Brothers at Winchmore. He was 5ft 11in tall with a fair complexion, blue eyes and brown hair. He had scars on both legs which testifies to the wish of some soldiers to serve and what they were prepared to go through to do so. He had been operated on earlier in the on 2nd May to repair varicose veins. With the need for soldier to march this was a condition which would have rendered him unfit for service if he had not had them operated on.
John enlisted at Ashburton on 2nd October 1916 and was assigned to 23rd Reinforcements, Mounted Rifles. He embarked on the 19th April 1917 aboard the Moeraki headed for Egypt. He disembarked at Sydney and transferred to the Port Sydney for Suez arriving on 20th June. He marched in to Moscar on the same day and transferred to the New Zealand Mounted rifles, 17th Anzac Mounted Division, 10th Squadron. He served with them throughout the campaign and was killed in action in the field on 14th November 1917, aged 41. An attack was carried out by the Mounted Rifles against heavily Turkish defences at Ayun Kara. He was first buried near where he fell, described as in an orange grove, but after the war his body was retrieved and buried in the Ramleh War Cemetery, Israel. In New Zealand John is remembered on the Glenroy War Memorial. He was the older brother of Richard Francis Jones who is also remembered on the memorial.
The cemetery dates from the First World War, when Ramleh (now Ramla) was occupied by the 1st Australian Light Horse Brigade on 1 November 1917. Field Ambulances, and later Casualty Clearing Stations, were posted at Ramleh and Lydda from December 1917 onwards. The cemetery was begun by the medical units, but some graves were brought in later from the battlefields and from Latron, Sarona and Wilhema Military and Indian Cemeteries. During the Second World War, this cemetery was used by the Ramla Royal Air Force Station and by various Commonwealth hospitals posted in turn to the area for varying periods. RAMLEH WAR CEMETERY contains 3,300 Commonwealth burials of the First World War, 964 of them unidentified. Second World War burials number 1,168. There are also 891 war graves of other nationalities from both wars, and 525 non-war burials, many from the RAF and garrison stations that were at Ramleh in the inter war years and until the end of the British Mandate in Palestine in 1948. First NameJohn WilliamLast NameJonesFamilySingleEldest son of Richard and Rebecca JonesDate of Birth18 November 1877Place of BirthSelwynDate of Death14 November 1917Place of DeathPalestineCause of DeathKilled in action Age at Death41
John enlisted at Ashburton on 2nd October 1916 and was assigned to 23rd Reinforcements, Mounted Rifles. He embarked on the 19th April 1917 aboard the Moeraki headed for Egypt. He disembarked at Sydney and transferred to the Port Sydney for Suez arriving on 20th June. He marched in to Moscar on the same day and transferred to the New Zealand Mounted rifles, 17th Anzac Mounted Division, 10th Squadron. He served with them throughout the campaign and was killed in action in the field on 14th November 1917, aged 41. An attack was carried out by the Mounted Rifles against heavily Turkish defences at Ayun Kara. He was first buried near where he fell, described as in an orange grove, but after the war his body was retrieved and buried in the Ramleh War Cemetery, Israel. In New Zealand John is remembered on the Glenroy War Memorial. He was the older brother of Richard Francis Jones who is also remembered on the memorial.
The cemetery dates from the First World War, when Ramleh (now Ramla) was occupied by the 1st Australian Light Horse Brigade on 1 November 1917. Field Ambulances, and later Casualty Clearing Stations, were posted at Ramleh and Lydda from December 1917 onwards. The cemetery was begun by the medical units, but some graves were brought in later from the battlefields and from Latron, Sarona and Wilhema Military and Indian Cemeteries. During the Second World War, this cemetery was used by the Ramla Royal Air Force Station and by various Commonwealth hospitals posted in turn to the area for varying periods. RAMLEH WAR CEMETERY contains 3,300 Commonwealth burials of the First World War, 964 of them unidentified. Second World War burials number 1,168. There are also 891 war graves of other nationalities from both wars, and 525 non-war burials, many from the RAF and garrison stations that were at Ramleh in the inter war years and until the end of the British Mandate in Palestine in 1948. First NameJohn WilliamLast NameJonesFamilySingleEldest son of Richard and Rebecca JonesDate of Birth18 November 1877Place of BirthSelwynDate of Death14 November 1917Place of DeathPalestineCause of DeathKilled in action Age at Death41
Connections
CollectionSoldiers of Selwyn World War OnePersonGunner Richard Francis JonesPlaceGlenroy
ImageWar Memorial Glenroy/WindwhistleMore InformationAuckland War Memorial Cenotaph
ImageWar Memorial Glenroy/WindwhistleMore InformationAuckland War Memorial CenotaphMilitary Service
Memorial or CemeteryGlenroy War MemorialRamleh War CemeteryOccupation before EnlistingFarm HandRegiment or ServiceNew Zealand Mounted RiflesEnlistment Details2nd October 1916 at AshburtonService Number35888Embarkation19th April 1917TransportMoerakiReinforcement23rd ReinforcementsCountryNew Zealand
Attribution
Researched ByL. M. Seaton
Trooper John William Jones. Selwyn Stories, accessed 15/05/2026, https://selwynstories.selwynlibraries.co.nz/nodes/view/412