Commander Loftus William Jones VC (13 November 1879 – 31 May 1916) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.
Naval career Born 13 November 1879 in Southsea to Admiral Loftus Francis Jones and Gertrude (née Gray), of Petersfield, Hampshire,Jones, Loftus William, Commonwealth War Graves Commission Jones was educated at Eastman's Royal Naval Academy. He was appointed as a sub-lieutenant to HMS Spiteful in 1901. Promoted to lieutenant on 1 April 1902, he was appointed later that year to , shore station at Hong Kong, for service on destroyers in reserve at the China Station. He rose to become a commander in the Royal Navy aboard during the First World War.
Jones was 36 years old, on 31 May 1916, at the Battle of Jutland when he performed an act of bravery for which he was awarded the Victoria Cross. Jones went down with his ship.
Citation
Commander Jones' body was washed ashore in Western Sweden some days after the battle. He was originally buried at Fiskebäckskil, Västra Götaland, Sweden. His body was transferred to the British War Graves plot in Kviberg Cemetery, Gothenburg in 1961.
The medal His medal was purchased by Lord Ashcroft in 2012 and is on display at the Imperial War Museum's Victoria Cross and George Cross gallery in London.
Home town memorial There is a memorial to him outside St Peter's Church, Petersfield.Petersfield Post
See also Monuments to Courage (David Harvey, 1999) The Register of the Victoria Cross (This England, 1997) VCs of the First World War - The Naval VCs (Stephen Snelling, 2002)
References
External links
Royal Naval Museum See Your History – Loftus William Jones