Maurice Benjamin Jones was born on the 19th of March 1923 – the third child of Wilfred Jones and Agnes Phyllis Jones (nee Millington) of Kidderminster, Worcestershire.

At the time of Maurice’s birth, the family were boarders at number 44 Hurcott Road in Kidderminster, their landlady was Mrs. Martha Whatley.

Maurice’s dad worked in the finishing department of Carpet Trades Ltd. whilst his Stourport-born mum was kept busy at home looking after three very young children; Muriel Rose was the oldest, aged just two - her young brother Harley Frederick was one year old - and Maurice was still a babe-in-arms!

School:

Young Maurice was clearly a clever lad; he passed his entry examination and won a place at King Charles 1st Grammar School, the town’s oldest and best respected seat-of-learning.

Maurice wouldn’t have known, but around thirty years before he’d won his place, the school had formed a Cadet Force – one which vigorously encouraged as many pupils as possible to pursue a career in the army as soon as they reached the requisite age.

Many did, and throughout the Great War, many fell - in Flanders, on the Somme, in Egypt and the Dardanelles…

To honour those old-boys who’d made the ultimate sacrifice, in the 1920s, the school installed a stained-glass window in the main assembly hall which depicted khaki-clad, Great War Tommys, praying for their lost comrades at the foot of a Calvary Cross.

In morning assembly, Maurice would have gazed up at that window. He’d also have spent time reading the Tablets of Remembrance mounted on the walls of the hall, one of which listed the 46 old-boys who’d fought and died in World War 1, the vast majority of whom fell wearing the khaki of infantrymen.

War Approaches:

 With talk of war growing ever louder, one can imagine young lads entering their final year in school, making plans for the future; with good friends and classmates naively promising that they’d “stick together come what may…”

Maybe the powerful images displayed in their school’s assembly hall influenced them, maybe not, but Maurice and two of his best friends - classmates William ‘Bill’ Preston and Michael Jerome – had made their minds up that if war did come, they’d all join the RAF.

The 1939 Register:

 Once war became inevitable, the British Government knew they had to issue National Identity cards. They planned for the wide-scale mobilisation of the population and the eventual introduction of rationing. By this time, the most recent census was already a decade old, so more up-to-date statistics were needed. Some preparations had already begun for the 1941 census, but because of the worsening state of unrest across Europe, the Government was forced to bring things forward and complete a National Register of the civilian population in 1939.

This register confirmed that Maurice’s dad Wilfred had changed departments within the Carpet Trades factory and was now a weaver. It also confirms that the family had moved out of lodgings and into their own home. Wilfred, Agnes and Maurice (now aged 16) lived at number 31 Bruce Road in Kidderminster.

From the Register we can see that Maurice’s big sister Muriel had moved out (she’d married her sweetheart William Hayden) and that his big brother Harley, had also moved away from home. In fact, Harley was now a very long way away from home – he’d joined the Royal Navy and was serving on submarines…

Tragedy Strikes:

 On leaving school, Maurice found work as a clerk in a local carpet factory, but this was only ever going to be a temporary arrangement, with Maurice being determined to sign-up as soon as he was old enough.

Tragedy struck the family in 1940 – when Wilfred and Agnes received confirmation of Harley’s death in service. Harley was aboard HM Submarine Sterlet, on patrol duties in the Skaggerak south of Larvik, Norway, when it’s believed she was sunk by German anti-submarine trawlers.

As discussed with his classmates a year or so earlier, once he’d reached the required age, Maurice made his way to Birmingham applied to join the RAF. Having already lost Harley, one can only imagine how distraught Maurice’s parents must have been. 

At this time the Air Ministry was using the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR) as the principal means of entry for aircrew to serve with the RAF. Indeed, by the end of 1941, the year that Maurice joined-up, more than half of Bomber Command aircrew were members of the RAFVR.

Maurice’s classmate Bill Preston joined-up via the same route - but his other classmate, Michael Jerome, had joined the RAF directly. Their plan to stick together was starting to unravel.

Whilst Bill and Maurice did eventually end up serving in the same squadron on coastal defence duties, Maurice was posted further afield...

Drigh Road, India:

 In the book ‘Biggles in the Orient’ written in 1945 by W.E.Johns, Biggles and his squadron made a transit stop at Drigh Road Airfield, Karachi, on their way to Calcutta.

As we know, the fictional character Biggles very rarely came second to anyone, but in this case Maurice had beaten him by a couple of years, because on completion of his training, Drigh Road was the airbase that Maurice was posted to with number 22 AACU (Anti Aircraft Cooperation Unit).

22 AACU, was one of the many ’Co-op’ units that had been introduced to help integrate British aircrews into other commonwealth air forces, with a view to enhance morale and strengthen international relationships. Royal Air Force and Indian Air Force (IAF) pilots would train by flying with their non-native air wings to gain combat experience and improve operational communication proficiency.

It’s often forgotten, but the IAF was instrumental in halting the advance of the Japanese army in Burma. They initially used the ill-suited Lysander on bombing missions, however, they got a much-needed upgrade in 1943, when No. 7 and No. 8 Indian Air Force Squadrons, along with four RAF units (including Maurice’s) were equipped with the twin-crewed Vultee Vengeance dive bomber.

Maurice piloted the Vultee Vengeance on numerous operations, most likely providing air-support for ground troops throughout the second Arakan campaign and the battles of Imphal and Kohima from April to July 1944.

Tragically, he was piloting Vegeance number AN903 with ‘B’ Flight of 22AACU on the 14th of November 1944 – when the plane hit a tree whilst flying at an extremely low altitude. Maurice was just 21 years old.

Both he and his rear-gunner, Flight Sergeant David Livie RAFVR, a 23-year-old from Edinburgh, died in the crash.

Today, Flight Sergeant/Pilot 1576227, Maurice Benjamin Jones rests under a Commonwealth War Graves (CWGC) headstone in Ranchi War Cemetery, India. At the foot of his headstone, his mum Agnes and his dad Wilfred requested the following epitaph be inscribed:

“WE BLESS THE YEARS WE HAD YOU AND LEAVE YOU NOW TO GOD. "PER LABOREM AD HONOREM" (In Honoured Memory)

They’d already lost one son when Harley was killed in action, the loss of young Maurice just four years later must have been devastating for them. With Harley lost at sea and Maurice buried in India, Wilfred and Agnes would have no graves to visit…

However, the brothers are both commemorated on the Kidderminster War Memorial which is situated to the front of St. Mary and All Saints Church. Below the names of the fallen, the following epitaph is inscribed:

“THESE DIED THE NOBLEST DEATH A MAN MAY DIE ~ FIGHTING FOR GOOD AND RIGHT AND LIBERTY ~ AND SUCH A DEATH IS IMMORTALITY”

In a letter of sympathy to Maurice’s mum, his Commanding Officer wrote that:

“…everyone in the flight liked him and he was always very cheerful and ready to work at all times.”

These sentiments are echoed in his old-school’s annual journal of July 1945, where it was confirmed in an article entitled ‘The Fallen’ that:

“This is how we found him at school. It is sad to think that Maurice’s elder brother was also killed in the war and we offer our deepest sympathy to his parents.”

Maurice’s name is inscribed on the WW2 Tablet of Remembrance that was placed next to the Great War Tablet in the main hall of King Charles I School. On this tablet Maurice appears alongside a further 28 schoolmates who also made the ultimate sacrifice in WW2...

Two of the 28 names are those of his classmates, Bill Preston and Michael Jerome. Bill’s plane was hit whilst attacking a German submarine in 1944. Michael’s plane was shot down whilst on an anti-submarine patrol twelve months later.

Both airmen were lost in the Danish Straits of Skaggerack, the very same stretch of water where Harley Jones’s submarine was sunk in 1940 (both fliers are commemorated on The Air Forces Memorial at Runnymede in Surrey, Harley is commemorated on the Plymouth Naval Memorial).

Maurice lies 4,500 miles away from his brother and his two classmates...

Rest In Peace Maurice Benjamin Jones - your bravery will never be forgotten; your sacrifice will be remembered For Evermore.

Acknowledgements:

‘The Carolian and Old Carolian’ July 1945 edition. 

Header image ~ a Vengeance dive bomber 'bombing up' in India (Image copyright unknown)