Glyn Jones was born in Bargold, South Wales on June 1, 1921, the son of David John Jones and Annie Jones, of 112 ½ North Christina Street, Sarnia. Glyn arrived in Canada with his parents when he was quite young. The Jones children included Glyn; his two brothers, Edward and Oliver (both would become members of the Royal Canadian Navy); and one sister, Esther. His family took up residence in Thedford and while there, Glyn attended the public school in that community. Glyn came to Sarnia when he was eleven and finished his education at Lochiel Street Public School and then Sarnia Collegiate. He also attended Central United Church. Prior to enlisting, he worked at a local Sarnia service station for a short time. War also affected his siblings. Glyn’s sister, Esther, married George Andrew, who joined the Royal Canadian Air Force and was later killed over Germany on December 20, 1943 (see George V. Andrew).
Glyn, single at the time, joined the Canadian Army on September 5, 1939, listing his occupation as a mechanic and his residence as 224 Cromwell Street, Sarnia. Both Glyn and his brother Edward joined the army together when war broke out. Glyn received the first part of his military training at Bright’s Grove. He was then transferred to London and later to Petawawa, where he had advanced training with the Royal Canadian Engineers. He was then assigned to the first Canadian Field Park Company and went overseas with this unit. Major Payne of Sarnia was Glyn’s Commanding Officer and happened to have been one of his teachers at Sarnia Collegiate. He related that Glyn was very popular with the men of his company. Glyn went on for further training in England. In late November of 1941, both Glyn and his brother had been overseas for about a year and a half, while brother Oliver, who had joined the navy in early 1940, had been to England and back several times.
Glyn’s brother Oliver Jones, an Able Seaman of the Royal Canadian Navy had been in the local news just over a year prior to Glyn’s death. He had given an interview to the Sarnia Observer in May of 1941 describing some of his experiences. The young sailor, who had worked for some time in the Sarnia General Hospital before signing up with the RCN in early 1940, was home on “survivors’ leave” at that time, visiting his mother. In March of 1941, he was assigned to an ocean boat to take charge of an anti-aircraft gun crew. The ship on which he was serving, part of a convoy heading to England, had been sunk in the North Atlantic by a German submarine. He described how on a calm, moonless, starless night, with a moderate snow falling, several of the ships in the convoy were attacked, with one bursting into flames. Oliver Jones’ ship was hit and sinking when the captain and men took to the lifeboats. They could see the burning ships, but the rest of the convoy had scattered as the attack started. They drifted for three hours before being picked up by a British destroyer. Not long after, they located the position of the “sub”, dropped depth charges and the sub rose to the surface to surrender. Seaman Oliver Jones described the crew as, “Decent young fellows, the captain was about 22 and the men were all much younger, about 15 or 16.”
Oliver Jones also described how prior to returning to Canada, he was on duty on the anti-aircraft gun at a barracks in Glasglow during the heaviest German air raid staged on the Clyde River port up to that time. “It was a terrible sight,” he recalled, describing a falling German plane as a “ball of flame” and telling of watching bombs bursting along the docks on the Clyde. “But the people in the shelters were marvelous, singing while the raid progressed, from about 10:30 at night till 5:30 next morning, and the damage was heavy.” While he was in Great Britain, Oliver was able to visit his sister and two brothers, including Glyn. It was the first time the three Jones brothers were together after a year’s separation.
Glyn Jones and the Canadian Field Park Company were in France in 1942. Glyn and his unit were with the first troops that went into Dieppe, France in August 1942. Code-named Operation Rutter, later Operation Jubilee, the Dieppe raid was one of the darkest chapters in Canada’s military history. Of the almost 5,000 Canadians who took part in the mission, more than 3,360 became casualties, including approximately 1,950 taken as Prisoners of War. Approximately 910 Canadians died on the beaches, in German captivity, or of their wounds after returning to England. It was during the raid on Dieppe, France on August 19, 1942, that Sapper Glyn Jones would lose his life. For a time after the raid, Glyn’s mother Annie Jones in Sarnia would only get the news that her son Glyn was listed as, reported missing in the Dieppe raid. It was not until mid-December of 1942 that Mrs. Annie Jones would receive the news that her son Glyn was now officially listed as, Overseas casualty, killed in action, in the field (France). Twenty-one year old Glyn Jones is buried in Dieppe Canadian War Cemetery, Hautot-Sur-Mer, Seine-Maritime, France, Grave E.57. On Glyn Jones’ headstone are inscribed the words, “Come ye bought, but not with gold, welcome to the sacred fold.” With love, Mam.
At the end of January 1945, Glyn’s brother Edward Jones would return home to Sarnia on leave after five years’ service overseas. He was welcomed at the Sarnia station by his mother Annie; his wife, who resided at 375 Cameron Street; family members, including his brother and sister; a neice and two nephews; a long time friend of the family; a Red Cross member representing of the Canadian Legion Br. 62; and Harbour master George Andrew, who had lost two sons in the service (included in this project). He was also greeted by his small daughter, Sandra, whom he had never seen. In addition, Pipe Major James Stewart, a First World War veteran, who was approaching his 80th year, moved up and down the platform, in the full regalia of the kilts, playing the music of the bagpipes, as he did for all trains returning with veterans.
SOURCES: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, J, L, N, S, 2B, 2C, 2D