Letter from Margaret Annie Jones to her brother-in-law, August 1916.
Jones' Wife to her brother-in-law regarding the
last fight of H.M.S. Shark in the Jutland Battle,
(Made by permission of Major J. Collas, his brother-
in law.) — 'I have seen the survivors, and they told me that
Loftus was wounded in the face at the beginning.—
They were under the fire of the German battleships
for more than an hour.— The pipe which connect
ed the steam up was blown away & then Shark
had to remain motionless.— As each German battle-
ship came up then fired into the Shark, but no one 2 Image contains two pages 3 and there was no cowardice anywhere. Each man did his duty
as usual, and only one went mad. — Hope was particularly
great, he stood at his gun from beginning to end and never waver
ed. — Loftus said to him 'Well done Hope you are splendid' When Loftus' leg was blown off Hope got two bits of wood
and bound it together to try and stop the bleeding. —
Hope won a V.C. if any man has in this war, so the other men
told me. I saw each man separately, and each one told me
the same. — Loftus did not go down with the ship , he was
put on a raft by Filleul, he had to be tied on as he was
helpless, but quite conscious. — About 20 of the men
and the 1st Lieutenant were on another raft. —
When in the water Loftus said 'now let's have a song
lads' and the 1st Lieut. started 'Nearer my God to
Thee'. — Later some ships came near and Loftus asked
'if they were ours', and was told they were. He said 4 'That is splendid.' He didn't speak any more; the ships altered their
course and did not come near them. — Loftus soon died after this. — The 1st Lieut. was not
wounded but he, and all, except six, died from cold
and shock. — The men assured me that death by drowning is not
a bit painful, so I hope that Loftus just skipped
away into unconsciousness. He must have been mortally
wounded, and very tired and he had done his duty. Aug 1916. 5 Copy of extract of Letter from Commander
Loftus Jones'. Wife, ( widow ) to her Brother-in-law
regarding the last fight of H.M.S. Shark in the Jutland
Battle. ( Made by permission of Major L. Loftus, his
Brother-in-law ) Capt. L.Jones was in command of H.M.S. Shark
& the Destroyer Flotilla. Aug. 1916. 6 Back of envelope upside down. centre:- Aug. /1916 Public records' office stamp partly covered by flap is on left. Beneath the date handwritten number 0816/167 (upside down ). Stamp on right. Oval stamp RECORD written in the centre. Above this is PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE: and OF NORTHERN IRELAND is written at the bottom of the oval
This is a handwritten copy of an extract from a letter written by Margaret Annie Jones (née Dampney) (b. 1881). The letter concerns the sinking of the HMS Shark at the Battle of Jutland. Margaret begins by describing the battle as she has heard it from the survivors. Margaret writes about her late husband, Loftus William Jones' (1880-1916), injuries and records that at one stage his leg was 'completely blown away above the knee'. She states that all but six of the survivors died from cold and shock. Jones was a commander in the Royal Navy aboard the H. M. S Shark during the First World War. He was 36 years old when he died at the Battle of Jutland on 31 May 1916. He was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross. The letter is addressed to one of Margaret's brother-in-laws. William had three brothers, Lewis, Frank and Charles, the first two also served in the Navy, while Charles fought for the Indian Army.
How to cite
Letters 1916, published by the Austrian Centre for Digital Humanities, Vienna, 2026 (https://letters1916static.github.io/letters1916-static/item__0412.html)
- Place
- Strangford House, Strangford, County Down, Ireland
- Mentioned in
- Letter from Margaret Annie Jones to her brother-in-law, August 1916.