John Sydney Jones Pte 352638 Manchester Regiment
Killed Tuesday 9th October 1917 AGE: 20
John was the son of William & Laura Jones of 94 Brecon Road, Hirwain, but enlisted in Chepstow, so presumably had relatives or employment in Mathern.
He was in the 2nd/9th Battalion of the Manchester Regiment and killed fighting in Belgium on the first day of the Battle of Passchendaele, also known as the 3rd Battle of Ypres. The battle dragged on until November 6th in appalling conditions, by which time Allied casualties were nearly half a million.
Like so many killed in this battle he has no known grave and is listed on the Tyne Cott Memorial to the Missing, situated in the cemetery of the same name, which with 12,000 graves is the largest Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery in the world. He was entitled to War and victory medals.