Alfred Stowell Jones VC

Between 1857 and 1914 the Victoria Cross had been awarded to 16 members of the 9th Lancers. Fourteen of those VCs were won during the Indian Mutiny of 1857-58. Lieutenant Alfred Jones and Sergeant Henry Hartigan were chosen to receive the medal after their bravery at the battle of Budli-ka-Serai, near Delhi, on 8 June 1857. At the siege of Delhi, Jones was leading the right Troop of the 4th Squadron of the 9th Lancers, galloping in line towards a cloud of dust that was assumed to be enemy guns. Jones spotted an enemy gun team off to the left, and on his own initiative raced after it. He came alongside the gun team and struck the off-wheeler who fell off and caused the team to pull up. Cornet Richard Thonger was following and dealt with the other riders while Jones spiked the gun. He brought the team and gun back, earning the praise of Colonel Hope Grant. Jones felt that he could have been court-martialed for going off at a tangent, but was lucky to have had a horse fast enough to catch the rebels.
Alfred Stowell Jones was born in Liverpool on 24 Jan 1832. His father was Archdeacon John Jones, and his mother Hannah Pares. He was educated at Liverpool College, and after Sandhurst entered the 9th Lancers on 9 July 1852. He was a lieutenant on 21 Sep 1855 and served in the Indian Mutiny with that rank. His action at Budli-ka-Serai on 8 June, for which he won the VC was not the only occasion when he showed courage. The charge of the 9th Lancers led by Lt-Col Robert Abercromby Yule on 19 June brought the regiment two more VCs but it could have been many more. Jones’s action on this occasion was in fact braver than on 8 June.
Mutineers came out of Delhi on 19 June and were threatening the camp of the 9th Lancers. No action was taken for more than an hour so that the rebels established themselves in a village on the Grand Trunk Road and either side of the road. Major Frank Turner of the Bengal Horse Artillery, a friend of Lieutenant-Colonel Yule, the CO of the 9th, was ordered to take his Troop, together with 2 squadrons of lancers and some Guides, to attack the enemy force. As the sun went down Turner became uneasy about his guns and urged Yule to charge the rebels while he withdrew his Troop. This was a daunting prospect for the lancers as the ground was unsuitable for cavalry and the rebels were lining the road and armed with artillery. Jones later related that as the squadrons came down the road behind the Horse Artillery, Turner shouted, “Get along to the front, you cavalry; I can’t stand this!” The History of the 9th Lancers by E W Sheppard then says,
‘This exclamation excited Yule to bring the squadron to the front, and cry “Charge!” before Jones had time to form the squadron. Jones then recorded that [Robert] Blair impetuously rushed to the front, and was followed by the men. Jones had looked at the road and seen it was not fit for a charge. He watched Yule for a moment, saw his face change, so Jones tried to stop them. But they were too late, and so Jones went with the rest.’
Away they went ‘under the most tremendous fire of musketry’ from the enemy who were lining both sides of the road. The narrow road forced them to charge no more than three abreast. After about half a mile they formed up at the first piece of open ground. As they looked back they could see their fallen comrades. The wounded were being hacked to pieces. Lt-Col Yule was dead or unconscious so he remained un-mutilated. It was now almost night-time and they were unable to retrieve the bodies safely so that task had to be left until next morning.
Jones left the 9th Lancers after 1858, was promoted to captain and brevet-major, mentioned in despatches three times. He was gazetted for the award on 18 June 1858 and presented with the medal at a parade on Southsea Common, by the Queen herself. Jones was married to Emily Back and they had five sons and a daughter. Three of the sons were killed in India or Mesopotamia and the daughter married the son of Sir John Watson VC. The family lived at Finchampstead where Lieutenant-Colonel Jones, after a successful civilian career as manager of a sewage farm, died on 29 May 1920.

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