Cdr Loftus William Jones, R.N. (1918)

[Commodore Armiger]

On the afternoon of May 31, 1916, during the action [Battle of Jutland]. Commander Jones in HMS Shark. torpedo-boot destroyer - led a division of destroyers to attack the enemy battle cruiser squadron. In the course of this attack a shell hit the Shark's bridge, putting the steering gear out of order. and very shortly afterwards another shell disabled the main engines, leaving the vessel helpless.

The commanding officer of another destroyer, seeing the Shark's plight, came between her and the enemy and offered assistance, but was warned by Commander Jones not to run the risk of being almost certainly sunk in trying to help him. Commander Jones, though wounded in the leg, went aft to help connect and man the after wheel. Meanwhile the forecastle gun with its crew had been blown away, and the same fate soon afterwards befell the after gun and crew Commander Jones then went to the midship and only remaining gun, and personally assisted in keeping it in action. .

All this time the Shark way subjected to very heavy fire from enemy light cruisers and destroyers at short range. The gun's crew of the midship gun was reduced to three, of whom an able seaman was soon badly wounded in the leg. A few minutes later Commander Jones was hit by a shell, which took off his leg above the knee, but he continued to give orders to his gun's crew. while a chief stoker improvised a tourniquet round his thigh. Noticing that the Ensign was not properly hoisted he gave orders for another to be hoisted. Soon afterwards, seeing that the ship could not survive much longer, and as a German destroyer was closing, he gave orders for the surviving members of the crew to put on lifebelts. Almost immediately after this order had been given the Shark was struck by a torpedo and sank. Commander Jones was unfortunately not amongst the few survivors from the Shark. who were picked up by a neutral vessel in the night.

The following awards have also been made to the survivors of H.M.S. Shark for their services during the action:

Distinguished Service Medal.

Sto. P.O. Charles Filleul, O.N. 292779 (Po.) ;

A.B. Charles Cleeberg Hope, O.N. 238376 (Po.);

A.B. Charles Herbert Smith, O.N J.13416 (Po.)

A.B. Joseph Owen Glendower Howell, O.N. 230192 (Po.) ;

Sto. 1st Cl. Thomas Wilton Swan, O.N. K 26567 (Po.) ;

P.O. William Charles Richard Griffin, O.N. 201404 (Po.)

The award to Petty Officer Grin has already been gazetted.

[herakles]

An interesting and stirring story. Clearly a very brave man who certainly wouldn't have admitted to it. How inspiring that he took the time to ensure the Ensign was showing properly.

Do you know where this action took place?

How many times did an event like this take place? Many I'm sure.

[Commodore Armiger]

I should have realised that there were no major actions in 1918 and researched further. The action was in fact Jutland. Reading between the lines it looks as though there were so few survivors that only PO Grin was recognised at the time for the heroism aboard HMS Shark that day. Subsequently the Admiralty must somehow have learnt a great deal more, resulting in the VC for Cdr Jones and six more DSMs.

[dennis a feary]

Armiger / Herakles, find here award of VC to Cdr Jones - makes fascinating story ;

JONES Loftus W N/E Commander RN 78A012 & 013 Shark
C-in-C Grand Fleet 06.03.19 Gazetted
Battle of Jutland 31.05.16 VC - Posthumous
On the afternoon of the 31st May, 1916, during the Battle of Jutland, Commander Jones in the "Shark", led a Division of Destroyers to attack the enemy Battle Cruiser Squadron. In the course of this attack a shell hit the "Shark's" bridge, putting the steering gear out of order, and very shortly afterwards another shell disabled the main engines, leaving the vessel helpless. The Commanding Officer of another Destroyer ("Acasta"), seeing the "Shark's" plight, came between her and the enemy and offered assistance, but was warned by Commander Jones not to run the risk of being almost certainly sunk in order to try to help him.Commander Jones, though wounded in the leg, went aft to help connect and man the after wheel. Meanwhile the forecastle gun with his crew had been blown away, and the same fate soon afterwards befell the after gun and crew. Commander Jones then went to the midship and only remaining gun, and personally assisted in keeping it in action. All this time the "Shark" was subjected to very heavy fire from the enemy light cruisers and destroyers, at close range. The gun's crew of the midship's gun was reduced to three, of whom an Able Seaman was soon badly wounded in the leg. A few minutes later Commander Jones was hit by a shell, which took off his leg above the knee, but he continued to give orders to his gun's crew, while a Chief Stoker improvised a tourniquet round his thigh. Noticing that the Ensign was not properly hoisted, he gave orders for another to be hoisted. Soon afterwards, seeing that the ship could not survive much longer, and as a German Destroyer was closing, he gave orders for the surviving members of the crew to put on lifebelts. Almost immediately after this order had been given, the "Shark" was struck by a torpedo and sank. Commander Jones was unfortunately not amongst the few survivors from the "Shark", who were picked up by a nuetral vessel in the night.

Sadsac