Colonel H, hero who fell storming Argentine machine guns
HEROIC Colonel ‘ H’ Jones was killed storming an Argentine machine gun nest during a daring raid in the Falklands conflict. His son Rupert Jones, who was educated at Eton and Sandhurst like him, was only 13 and playing croquet in the garden with older brother David during half-term when their mother Sara was told the awful news.
Throughout his military career, H – short for Herbert, which he hated – gained a reputation as an ‘action man’ who led from the front and who believed that setting an example was the best way to lead men.
He was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross for his heroic action while commanding 2nd Battalion The Parachute Regiment as they attacked Argentine invaders’ positions around the settlements of Darwin and Goose Green on May 28, 1982. He was aged 42.
The citation for his VC tells how the Battalion was held up just south of Darwin by ‘a particularly well-prepared and resilient enemy position of at least eleven trenches on an important ridge’.
It says it was clear to Lieutenant Colonel Jones ‘ that desperate measures were needed in order to overcome the enemy position and rekindle the attack, and that unless these measures were taken promptly the Battalion would sustain increasing casualties and the attack perhaps even fail’.
It tells how he ‘ immediately seized a sub-machine gun, and, calling on those around him and with total disregard for his own safety, charged the nearest enemy position. This action exposed him to fire from a number of trenches. As he charged up a short slope at the enemy position he was seen to fall and roll backward downhill.
‘He immediately picked himself up, and again charged the enemy trench, firing his sub-machine gun and seemingly oblivious to the intense fire directed at him.
‘He was hit by fire from another trench which he outflanked, and fell dying only a few feet from the enemy he had assaulted. A short time later a company of the Battalion attacked the enemy, who quickly surrendered. The display of courage by Colonel Jones had completely undermined their will to fight further.
‘This was an action of the utmost gallantry by a Commanding Officer whose dashing leadership and courage throughout the battle were an inspiration to all about him.’
MAJOR General Jones’ mother and Colonel H’s widow, Sara, was awarded the CBE in 1995 for campaigning for service charities.
When Major General Jones was awarded an MBE in 2002, he chose – from one of three investiture dates offered – the 20th anniversary of his father’s death. He was honoured for his role in drawing up MoD plans to cope with potential crises caused by the Millennium changeover, the solar eclipse and the petrol blockade.
Referring to his choice of date to receive his medal from the Prince of Wales at Buckingham Palace, Major General Jones said: ‘I know H would be very proud and I thought it would be a good way of marking the occasion.’
He added: ‘ He was the most amazing father a son could ever ask for. He always had time for David and I. He played with us and treated us like grown-ups.
‘My father was somebody very special. I’m not sure I have anything more special than the next man, but he did. He was a man apart.’
H originally served in the Devonshire and Dorset Regiment, where Maj Gen Jones began his career.