Leading Signalman
Euros Bowen
JONES
Royal Navy
33
Euros Jones was born in Pontypridd, Glamorgan on 6 July 1907, the son of David John Jones & Rachel Jones (née Bowen) from Treorchy. After leaving school he worked as a colliery boy and then joined the Royal Navy as a Boy 2nd Class at HMS INDEFATIGABLE on 8 March 1923.
After training at HMS GANGES he served as a Signalman in the battleships HMS VALIANT and HMS QUEEN ELIZABETH from July 1924 to 14 June 1926 and then in the cruisers HMS CURLEW and HMS DELHI followed by the battleship HMS ROYAL OAK. He also served in HMS AMBUSCADE and HMS HEATHER before he volunteered for submarines and joined HMS DOLPHIN on 14 April 1931 ‘for Submarine training’ and then ‘for Submarine L53’ from 27 August 1931 to 2 March 1933.
He returned to HMS DOLPHIN and, having been selected for service in the 4th Submarine Flotilla at Hong Kong, he took passage in the cruiser HMS CALCUTTA to join the Submarine Depot Ship HMS MEDWAY and then HMS PERSEUS in which he served from 24 April 1934 to 30 June 1935 and from 1 October 1935 to 10 June 1936.
Euros Bowen returned to UK from Hong Kong arriving in Plymouth in SS CORFU in December 1936 – first to the Royal Naval Hospital, Plymouth and then for HMS DRAKE (the Royal Naval Barracks) at Devonport. He next served in HMS SALAMANDER and the cruiser HMS NEWCASTLE from 6 May 1938 to 14 June 1939. In September 1939 Euros and his wife – Lily May Bowen Jones (née Hayden) were living at 3, Herman Street, Treorchy, Glamorgan with their son David Ivor.
Euros served in the cruiser HMS KANDAHAR from 6 October 1939 to 19 May 1940. On 23 July 1940 he returned to submarines at HMS DOLPHIN, was promoted to Acting Leading Signalman and drafted to Submarine P41 (HMS USK) ‘completing at the Vickers Shipyard at Barrow in Furness’ on 10 September 1940. On completion, USK left Barrow for trials and working up on 30 October 1940.
After two short patrols off France and in the Channel HMS USK was sent to the Mediterranean via Gibraltar to join the 10th Submarine Flotilla at Malta carrying out a patrol on the way. Another patrol was carried out West of Gibraltar. HMS USK left Gibraltar for Malta on 7 January 1941 carrying out a 5th Patrol on the way, providing cover for a convoy, arriving at Malta on 17 January where some engine damage and other defects were repaired before another patrol off Libya was carried out.
Whilst based in Malta the submarine suffered damage in a bombing raid which took the best part of two months (February & March) to fix. HMS USK left Malta on 19 April 1941 for a patrol in the area of Cape Marittimo. Four days later the Commanding Officer reported he intended moving South to avoid severe anti-submarine activity in his patrol area. There were no further reports from USK and the submarine was assumed to have been lost with all hands, possibly in a minefield, on or about 3 May 1941 having failed to arrive back as ordered.
Euros Jones is commemorated on the Plymouth Naval Memorial on Panel 50, Column 1.
2 responses
Euros and Lily also had a daughter Olwen Mary on the 17th April 1934
I believe he was my grandfather.