Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

The Jones of “Drumcalpin”

James Jabez Jones and his wife Jane arrived in Port Adelaide on board the Fitzjames from Drumcalpin, Ireland with their two sons, James and Robert, in 1855. A third son, Frank, was born in Australia. James cleared land between between Manoora and Auburn and named the farm Drumcalpin after their home in Ireland.

The eldest son, James, married Elizabeth Crush in 1879 and settled on the eastern side of the property. They named this part of the property Spring Farm. James and Elizabeth had ten children. Two sons, Arthur and Robert enlisted along with two son-in-laws. Elizabeth had married Henry MacKenzie and Myrtle married Ernest Edgar Goss.

The youngest of James and Jane’s son, Frank, married Ida and had four children. Their youngest son, James Edmund enlisted along with his brother-in-law Horace Waterman. Horace, a plasterer from Walkerville, had married James’ sister Rosamund at Drumcalpin in 1913. Their son, Horace Edmund, was born at Auburn on 31 October 1916, six months after Horace had embarked for overseas service. James and Horace served in the same unit, 5th Pioneer Battalion.

7429 Driver Robert Francis Jones

Born at Manoora, Robert was the son of James and Elizabeth Jones of “Spring Farm”. A 31 year old farrier, he was married to Ruth with three children. When he joined at Keswick on the 24 May 1915 the young family was living on South Road, Richmond. He was initially appointed to the Army Service Corps at Mitcham where he was eventually posted to 5th Reinforcements 4th Light Horse Brigade Train. A brigade train consisted of wagons and draught horses to move baggage, supplies, water, materials for repairs and forges. The 5th Reinforcements entrained to Melbourne to continue training at Broadmeadows. Robert embarked from Melbourne on HMAT A70 Ballarat on 14 September 1915 and disembarked at Alexandria in Egypt.

In January 1916 Robert was admitted to 1st General Hospital at Heliopolis with some metal in his eye. It could not have been too serious as he was soon back with his unit. Two months later, at Moascar, Robert was transferred and taken on strength of 2nd Division Signal Company with the rank of Sapper. This was just prior to embarking from Alexandria on HMAT A32 Themistocles to join the British Expeditionary Force in France where he disembarked at Marseilles on 21 March 1916. After the Battle of Pozieres in July Robert’s unit moved to the battlefields of Belgium where, in September, he was taken from the field by the 6th Field Ambulance with the mumps.

1.3.17  France  “Crime  Illtreating a horse by kicking it 26/2/17. Award   14 days Field Punishment”

For the remainder of the war the company continued to maintain communications in the trenches and divisional areas of France and Belgium. In July 1917 Robert spent two weeks in England and a year later, in September 1918, spent another three weeks on leave in England. With the end of the war Robert embarked for England in March 1919 when he was attached to 2nd Training Battalion. Here, on 18 March, he was admitted ill to the 4th General Canadian Hospital at Codford and six days later transferred to No3 General Hospital. Robert’s records make no mention of the nature of his illness but it could not have been prolonged as only three weeks later he was promoted to temporary sergeant in charge of the troop preparing to return to Australia for demobilisation aboard HT Castalia. A condition of this appointment was that Robert would revert to his permanent grade of Driver on disembarkation at Adelaide. Robert embarked on 13 April and disembarked in Adelaide on 27 May 1919. He was discharged on 20 July 1919.

Unable to find employment as a farrier, Robert  settled on land made available under the Soldier Settlement Scheme at Caralue on Eyre Peninsula. Robert's allotments were Hd of Yaninee Sec 33 and Hd of Darke Sec 43. He died in 1963.