Alfred Stowell Jones was born at 3 Huskisson Street L8 on
the 24th January 1832, the second child of Reverend John Jones, the
vicar of St. Andrew’s Church in Renshaw Street. His mother Hannah (née Pares)
came from Leicester. Not long after his son’s birth Rev. Jones was appointed
Waterloo and Rural Dean, moving to 38 Waterloo Road, which was to be his home
for over thirty years. He eventually became Archdeacon of Liverpool, dying in
1883 aged 90.
Arthur Jones’ early education was received at home from his
mother, later attending Liverpool College in Shaw Street. Having shown a keen
aptitude for horsemanship he determined upon a military career, entering the
Royal Military College at Sandhurst in 1851, shortly after his mother died. After
a year at Sandhurst he purchased a commission of coronet in the 9th
Lancers and in 1855, having been promoted to lieutenant, he departed for
service in India. Fearing he would not get the chance for active service Jones
lobbied unsuccessfully to transfer to the Crimea but before long his
opportunity came. 1857 saw the Indian Rebellion (previously known as the Indian
Mutiny) and Jones first campaign, advancing on a captured Delhi under the
command of Major General Hewitt.
During the action Jones, alone, pursued six ‘enemy’ gunners
who were retreating with their 9-pound cannon. Single-handedly, brandishing his
sabre, he brought the galloping team to a halt. For his bravery in this, and
another engagement in the campaign, Arthur Stowell Jones was awarded the
Victoria Cross. His citation reads
“The Cavalry charged the rebels
and rode through them. Lieutenant Jones, of the 9th Lancers, with his squadron,
captured one of their guns, killing the drivers, and, with Lieutenant-Colonel
Yule’s assistance, turned it upon a village, occupied by the rebels, who were
quickly dislodged. This was a well-conceived act, gallantly executed.”
Jones was severely wounded in
the action to take Delhi and returned to England in 1857. He was presented with his V.C. by Queen
Victoria on 2nd August 1858. He retired from the army with the rank
of Lieutenant Colonel in 1872 and moved to Flintshire where he set up and
managed a sewage farm estate of 104 acres. His later years were darkened by the
fact that he lived to bury four of his five sons, all of whom served in the
armed forces. He died in Finchampstead, Berkshire, aged 88, on 29th
May 1920.
