The superb 1963 New Years Honours Petroleum Industry Order of the British Empire, Great War Battle of the Hundred Days Bavai 5th November 1918 Whippet Tank commander’s Military Cross and Prisoner of War, and Second World War United States Bronze Star Medal group awarded to Lieutenant Colonel H.F. Jones, O.B.E., M.C., Tank Corps later Royal Army Service Corps, who as a 2nd Lieutenant in command of a Whippet tank with the 6th Light Battalion, won a spectacular Military Cross on 5th November 1918 when in action near Bavai when leading an infantry advance in his Whippet tank, being also taken prisoner of war. His tank was put out of action by a field gun, and he, together with his crew of two men, were severely wounded. Jones crawled out into a pit and withstood the enemy, who were entrenched 20 yards away, for an hour, until he was hit again and the party captured. When hit, his tank was some two miles ahead of the advanced infantry and had caused the enemy to retire a considerable distance. He went on to work as a petroleum technologist, and was re-commissioned during the Second World War, and then worked in his speciality as a petroleum specialist, adapting new types of fuels and lubricants for the British Army, and greatly simplifying the joint supply to the Allied forces in the run up to the landings in North Africa, and the subsequent invasion of mainland Europe. As such he worked in close co-operation with the American forces, and it was for this work that he was awarded the United States Bronze Star Medal, the award being gazetted in November 1947. Having returned to his petroleum work, he was latterly manager of Marine Bunker Fuel for the British Mexican Petroleum Company, service for which he was appointed an Officer of the Civil Division of the Order of the British Empire in the 1963 New Years Honours List.
Group of 5: The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, Officer, O.B.E., 2nd type, Civil Division, housed in its Royal Mint fitted presentation case; Military Cross, GVR cypher, with fitted presentation case; British War Medal and Victory Medal; (LIEUT. H.F. JONES.); United States of America: Bronze Star Medal, with official presentation case.
Condition: Nearly Extremely Fine.
Together with the following:
Buckingham Palace letter issued on return from being a prisoner of war, this inscribed in ink to: ‘Lt H F Jones 6 Tank Batt’.
Recipient’s personal scrapbook, containing amongst other things, a fold out from “The Sphere” of the new zeppelins, dated from 10th November 1917; a selection of cuttings of poems; a fund raising card titled the ‘Tank Anthem’ as sold for 1d; another title ‘Your Country Needs You Fall In!’; another ‘Ruston’s Aerial Post for buying War Bonds as printed for the people of Lincoln for the 4th-9th March 1918; images and cutting of allied leaders and cigarette cards of heroes and senior officers; a number of other factual inserts and hand written details on submarines sunk and zeppelins wrecked; some handwritten key dates; inserted maps and further newspaper cuttings; other articles chronicling the progress of the war from the beginning to the end. The scrapbook is now with a weekend spine and missing the front cover.
Henry Francis Jones was born on 23rd May 1898 in Panton, Lincolnshire, and in 1911 was being educated at the Boy’s Grammar School in Louth. With the outbreak of the Great War he became an officer cadet and was then appointed to a commission as 2nd Lieutenant into the General List on 6th December 1917, and was attached to the Tank Corps on 30th January 1918. Jones saw service out on the Western Front from 27th April 1918 with ‘F’ Battalion, later retitled the 6th Light Battalion and then just the 6th Battalion, and serving in Whippet tanks.
A lighter at 14 ton, and faster tank – all of 8 miles per hour – the Whippet came into service by the time of the German attack in early 1918. It was lightly armed but highly effective, bringing a degree of mobility back to the battlefield. The most effective variant, Mark V, was in service for the Allied attacks that began in July 1918. It was more powerful and had an improved steering and control mechanism that allowed a reduction in the crew. Mark V types were also produced as supply carriers and – less successfully – as gun carriers. A stretched version called the Mark V* was also produced, better able to cross wide trenches without needing a fascine.
It was during the final major action of the war, known as the Battle of the Hundred Days, that Jones won the Military Cross and was taken prisoner of war on 5th November 1918 when in action near Bavai when leading an infantry advance in his Whippet tank. The citation reads as follows: ‘On 5th November 1918, near Bavai, when leading an infantry advance his whippet tank was put out of action by a field gun. He, together with his crew of two men, were severely wounded. He crawled out into a pit and withstood the enemy, who were entrenched 20 yards away, for an hour, until he was hit again and the party captured. He showed most gallant leadership, and when hit his tank was some two miles ahead of the advanced infantry and had caused the enemy to retire a considerable distance.’ His award of the Military Cross was published in the London Gazette for 27th June 1919, and is one of two awards to the Tank Corps for the action near Bavai on 5th November 1918, both going to Whippet tank commanders.
Officially reported as missing in action on 6th November 1918, though in fact taken prisoner the day before, he was only briefly a prisoner, and with the end of the war 6 days later, was then repatriated on 20th December 1918. Jones relinquished his commission on 5th July 1919.
As of November 1923 when he applied for his campaign medals, Jones was living in Barrow-in-Furness, Lancashire. Having married a Sleaford in 1923, Jones went on to work in the petroleum industry, and in 1936 is listed as having crossed the Atlantic from New York to Southampton aboard the famous liner Normandie, he being then shown as a petroleum technologist. He is still shown as such in 1939 when living in Hendon, London.
With the outbreak of the Second World War, he was appointed to a commission as a 2nd Lieutenant (No.244846) with the Royal Army Service Corps on 21st September 1942 and was then rapidly promoted to Lieutenant Colonel, and employed in his speciality as a petroleum specialist, adapting new types of fuels and lubricants for the British Army, and greatly simplifying the joint supply to the Allied forces in the run up to the landings in North Africa, and the subsequent invasion of mainland Europe.
As such he worked in close co-operation with the American forces, and it was for this work that he was awarded the United States Bronze Star Medal. The award was made to him in the London Gazette for 14th November 1947, and the original recommendation reads as follows: ‘Lieutenant Colonel Henry Francis Jones, (244846) R.A.S.C., performed meritorious service in Europe from September 1942 to May 1945. In close co-operation with representatives of the United States Forces, he performed much of the basic investigation and planning which led to adaption of new types of fuels and lubricants for the British Army, greatly simplifying the problems of joint supply to Allied Forces. He assisted in the staging of forces from the United Kingdom prior to their invasion of North Africa, and later helped in the determination of petroleum products to be provided to Allied Forces during the invasion of Europe. By his profession knowledge and devotion to duty, Lieutenant Colonel Jones contributed materially to the success of the joint petroleum supply operations in Europe.’
Jones returned to his work in the petroleum business, and was ultimately manager of Marine Bunker Fuel for the British Mexican Petroleum Company, service for which he was appointed an Officer of the Civil Division of The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in the New Years Honours List as published in the London Gazette for 1st January 1963. Jones latterly lived in Richmond, Surrey, and died on 24th August 1990.
