Ralph Jones (GC)
Encyclopedia
Ralph Jones was an English
-born Australia
n soldier who was posthumously awarded the George Cross
for the gallantry he showed when Japanese prisoners of war staged an escape attempt on the 5th of August 1944 in Cowra, New South Wales
.
Jones was born at Gorleston
, Norfolk
, England
and educated there until the age of 14. He served in the British Army
at the end of World War I
and in the army of occupation on the Rhine, Germany
, until invalided home in April 1920. He emigrated to Australia about 1926. On 15 January 1942, he was mobilised, and in February was posted to the prison camp at Cowra.
On 5 August 1944, the Japanese prisoners at the camp, armed with improvised knives and bats, stormed the guards with what a military court of inquiry termed "a suicidal disregard of life." Two hundred and thirty-one prisoners were killed during the ensuing fighting and 108 wounded. All of the escapees were recaptured within days. Jones was killed in the outbreak, as was Private Benjamin Gower Hardy
, who was also awarded the George Cross. Private Charles Henry Shepherd was the third victim of the fighting at the camp, while Lieutenant Harry Doncaster was ambushed and killed while recapturing the escapees.
The court of inquiry found that the Australian soldiers had ceased fire as soon as they had reestablished control of the camp, and that many of the dead had either killed themselves or been killed by fellow prisoners, while many of the wounded had self-inflicted injuries.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
-born Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n soldier who was posthumously awarded the George Cross
George Cross
The George Cross is the highest civil decoration of the United Kingdom, and also holds, or has held, that status in many of the other countries of the Commonwealth of Nations...
for the gallantry he showed when Japanese prisoners of war staged an escape attempt on the 5th of August 1944 in Cowra, New South Wales
Cowra, New South Wales
Cowra is a town in the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia in the Cowra Shire. It is located on the Mid-Western Highway, 317 kilometres west of Sydney on the banks of the Lachlan River at an altitude of 310 metres above sea level. At the 2006 census Cowra had a population of 8,430...
.
Jones was born at Gorleston
Gorleston
Gorleston-On-Sea, also known colloquially as Gorleston, is a settlement in Norfolk in the United Kingdom, forming part of the larger town of Great Yarmouth. Situated at the mouth of the River Yare it was a port town at the time of the Domesday Book. The port then became a centre of fishing for...
, Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and educated there until the age of 14. He served in the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
at the end of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and in the army of occupation on the Rhine, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, until invalided home in April 1920. He emigrated to Australia about 1926. On 15 January 1942, he was mobilised, and in February was posted to the prison camp at Cowra.
On 5 August 1944, the Japanese prisoners at the camp, armed with improvised knives and bats, stormed the guards with what a military court of inquiry termed "a suicidal disregard of life." Two hundred and thirty-one prisoners were killed during the ensuing fighting and 108 wounded. All of the escapees were recaptured within days. Jones was killed in the outbreak, as was Private Benjamin Gower Hardy
Benjamin Gower Hardy
Benjamin Gower Hardy GC was an Australian soldier who was posthumously awarded the George Cross for the gallantry he showed when Japanese prisoners of war staged an escape attempt on the 5 August 1944 in Cowra, New South Wales.Armed with improvised knives and bats the Japanese stormed the guards...
, who was also awarded the George Cross. Private Charles Henry Shepherd was the third victim of the fighting at the camp, while Lieutenant Harry Doncaster was ambushed and killed while recapturing the escapees.
The court of inquiry found that the Australian soldiers had ceased fire as soon as they had reestablished control of the camp, and that many of the dead had either killed themselves or been killed by fellow prisoners, while many of the wounded had self-inflicted injuries.