TOPIC:

John Alexander Jones

Wounded in Action – Spionkop – 22 January 1900

Private, 1st Battalion, Border Regiment – Anglo Boer War

- Queens South Africa Medal (CC/TH/OFS/RoL/TVL) to 284 PTE J.A. JONES. 1ST BORDER REGT

John Jones, despite his uniquely Welsh name, was born in Rathfriland, Newry, County Down, Ireland in 1867. Little is known about him until, at Newry on 12 December 1882, at the age of 15 years and 6 months, he completed attestation forms for service with the Border Regiment. Of no occupation he was, physically, 5 feet 1 inch in height, weighed 101 lbs and had fair hair, grey eyes and light brown hair. By way of distinctive marks he had a mole on his left hip and vaccination marks on his left arm.

Having been found fit by the Doctor Jones was assigned no 284 and the rank of “Lad.” This status was maintained until, on 28 October 1884, he was appointed a Drummer. On 21 February 1885 he sailed for India aboard the Serapis where he was to spend the next 4 years and 308 days – until 5 January 1890 when he went with his regiment to neighbouring Burma.

Once in the Far East he started to misbehave and, on 25 November 1885, despite his tender age, he was in confinement awaiting trial. This led to the inevitable District Court Martial where he was found guilty of Drunkenness and sentenced to 21 days Imprisonment with Hard Labour.

His incarceration ending on New Year’s Day 1886 he was reinstated as a Drummer with the regiment. Unfortunately, as the years went on, Jones was to prove himself a repeat offender and a bit of a reprobate – on 22 May 1890 he was again behind bars awaiting trial for Conduct to the Prejudice etc. and sentenced to 84 days Imprisonment with Hard Labour. This sentence, considered unduly harsh, was remitted to 42 days. He returned to duty as a Drummer on 21 July 1890 – halfway through his service in Burma which ended with his return to England on 16 December 1890. He reverted to the rank of Private with the 1st Battalion on 24 February 1891 before being promoted once more to Lance Corporal on 18 November 1891 during a long stretch at Home which was to last until 9 November 1897 when he was posted to Malta.

Whilst in Malta, on 18 August 1898, he was convicted by Civil Powers of “inflicting bodily harm” and sentenced to 14 days imprisonment. On 27 September 1899 he and his battalion sailed for South Africa and the Anglo Boer War. By the time they landed in Cape Town on 21st October 1899 the war – between the two Boer Republics of the Transvaal and the Orange Free State and Great Britain had been raging for ten days. Once on South African soil they were sent to De Aar but after two days there they were taken to East London, and thence by steamer to Durban. Along with the 1st Inniskilling Fusiliers, 1st Connaught Bangers, and the 1st Dublin Fusiliers, they formed the 5th Brigade under Major General Hart, the Border Regiment taking the place of the 2nd Royal Irish Rifles, which had been left in Cape Colony.



To say that the Border Regiment would see action in the war would be an understatement – they were immersed in it almost from their arrival. At Willow Grange in November they were in a support role but it was at Colenso on 15th December 1899, as part of Hart’s Irish Brigade that they tasted real action for the first time.

Although in support of the rest of the brigade in the attack near Bridle Drift, they lost 6 men killed, 3 officers and 42 men wounded, garnering a special mention by General Buller. Hart was of course the fellow who pushed his men right up to an imaginary drift and, once the concealed Boers on the opposite bank had opened a withering and very accurate fire on his bunched-up troops, had the greatest difficulty in extricating them.

At Venter's Spruit the battalion was heavily engaged on 20th January, and between the 20th and 26th lost 1 officer and 7 men killed, and 4 officers and about 133 men wounded. This coincided with the battle of Spionkop - "Spion Kop" at the time, referred to all the actions between 17 and 26 January 1900 and, to the Boers, that is still the inference. Strangely, in British literature in more recent times the “ Battle of Spionkop” has come to mean only the action on 24th January on Spion Kop mountain itself where the British force trudged back downhill after a murderous engagement lasting many hours on what they had, mistakenly, perceived to be the summit.

On 20th Jan, the Borders were part of General Hart's attack on Tabanyama. They ended up at the head of a valley in a position only about 800m from the Boer trenches, which overlooked them on three sides, and they were far in front of the rest of the line. They withdrew after dark, but they had a lot of casualties that day.

It was on the 22nd January – technically at Spionkop, as previously explained, that Jones was Wounded in Action – his papers referring to a Scalp Wound

The Borders did not participate at Spion Kop itself, and on 24th Jan they were firing on Boer trenches from their position on the southern crest of Tabanyama. In the final effort to relieve Ladysmith the Imperial Light Infantry took the place in the brigade of the Border Regiment, which on the 27th, the day of the great assault on Pieter's Hill, was, along with the Composite Rifle Battalion, employed in keeping up a continuous long-range fire on the enemy's trenches from the hills south of the Tugela,—a fire which Churchill and others said was very helpful to our troops engaged in the assault.

Ladysmith was relieved on 1 March 1900 and the men were given several weeks of rest and relaxation before the next phase of the war commenced – this was about the middle of April 1900 when a division known as the Xth Division, under Sir Archibald Hunter, was brought round from Natal to Cape Colony. It consisted of Barton's Fusilier Brigade and Fitzroy Hart's brigade, now composed of the Somerset Light Infantry, which took the place of the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, the 1st Border Regiment, 1st Connaught Rangers, and 2nd Dublin Fusiliers. The division went straight to Kimberley, except the Somersets and the Borders, which were utilised in the operations for the relief of Wepener, which was accomplished about 24th April. The Border Regiment had some fighting about the 22nd and 23rd, losing 7 wounded.

These battalions were now railed to the Transvaal western border with the 1st Border Regiment and 1st Connaught Rangers going to Irene, posted east of that place under Mahon.

On 9th July General French, with Hutton and other troops, including those of Mahon, "engaged the enemy and pushed them back beyond Bronkhorst Spruit". On the 12th the Border Regiment, Connaught Rangers, and Royal Fusiliers marched back to Pretoria.

To clear the country north of Pretoria a column under Ian Hamilton was organised, which included an infantry brigade, consisting of the 1st KOSB, 1st Border Regiment, 2nd Berkshire, and 1st Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders. This column left Pretoria on 16th July; between that date and the 25th Ian Hamilton's force was on the left in a further advance eastwards to Balmoral, and then returned to Pretoria to operate north-west towards Rustenburg. They had some stiff fighting in hilly country. The Border Regiment was left in the Magaliesberg; the remainder returned to Pretoria in August, very short of supplies. Meanwhile De Wet had crossed to the north of the Vaal. An attempt was made to surround him. The Border Regiment and some mounted troops were posted at Commando Nek with Baden-Powell. De Wet crossed the Magaliesberg range at Oliphant's Nek and paid a visit to Baden-Powell, sending a message asking surrender, which was politely rejected. Next day De Wet was hastening from the district pursued by Mahon.

In September 1900 the battalion was again in a column operating from Commando Nek under General Clements. The battalion was still under Clements at the time of his defeat at Nooitgedacht on 13th December 1900, but was not present with him on that occasion, having been left to guard Krugersdorp.

About the end of December 1900 the battalion had some skirmishes in the Magaliesberg; they also fortified and held Breedt's Nek. The battalion was now under General Cunningham, and with him was engaged against De la Rey at Middlefontein, 23rd to 25th January 1901, when the Border Regiment had 6 killed and 15 wounded. The battalion continued to operate in the South-West Transvaal. In April 1901 they were detailed to guard the Klerksdorp-Krugersdorp Railway. In September 1901 the battalion was in garrison at Potchefstroom—Colonel Ovens, who had been on sick-leave, rejoining at this time and being commandant of the town. In January 1902, after a visit from Lord Kitchener, the battalion built a line of blockhouses from near Ventersdorp to Lichtenburg so expeditiously as to gain a complimentary wire from Lord Kitchener. The battalion garrisoned this line till the end of the war.

The war ended on 31 May 1902 with the signing of the Treaty of Vereeniging and Jones, after exactly three years in South Africa headed for home on 29 September 1902. He was to spend another 1 with the regiment until being discharged at Plymouth, time expired, on 11 December 1903. His address on discharge was 51 West Field (later Westfield) Street, St Helen’s Lancashire. His conduct was described as “Latterly good.”

What became of him after this is a matter of conjecture.

Acknowledgements:
- Colonials in South Africa, Stirling
- Ancestry & FMP for attestation papers etc.