Willie was born in Liverpool and by 1911 the family had moved, possibly moved back, to Dolgellau, Merionethshire and they lived in the town. The head of the family was Willie's father Hugh Jones.

Very little seems to be recorded of his civilian or military life.

There is only one entry in Y Dydd, Dolgellau's local newspaper relating to Willie's involvement in the war. The 28 September 1917 edition reported that he was being treated for wounds to his arm in a London hospital. There appear to be no records to show whether he recovered and returned to his regiment or, as a result of those injuries, he was invalided out of the army. Given that he is buried in town and also commemorated on the War Memorial, an assumption can be made that the injuries were such that he was invalided out of the army. Sadly, therefore, it is likely that those injuries resulted in his early death in 1920.


The available records show Willie at being a Private in 1/7th RWF. The RWF edition of Soldiers Died in The Great War does not show a 1/7th Battalion and his name does not appear within any battalion in this edition. It is therefore difficult to know the action where Willie was wounded. The date of his wounds could suggest the Ypres salient in Belgium but it seems to be unknown.

Willie is buried in Dolgellau cemetery and is commemorated on the War Memorial in town.

 We will remember him. 

  

Emrys Tippett