Lieutenant, 129th Field Ambulance, Royal Army Medical Corps.
Died of wounds 1st July 1916, age approx. 39.
Buried in Carnoy Military Cemetery, France.
Former student of medicine.
Raymond was born at Llanrhaeadr, Montgomeryshire, Wales. He was the youngest son of Richard Bellis Jones, a school master, and his wife Hannah of Llanrhaeadr Post Office. He attended Oswestry High School then came to Manchester University to study medicine. On gaining his degree he went into general practice under Dr. Owen in Brymbo before leaving to set up his open practise in Cardiff.
On the outbreak of War in 1914 Raymond joined the Royal Army Medical Corps (R.A.M.C.) as a Kitchener volunteer serving as a doctor with 129th Field Ambulance in the 38th Welsh Division (New Army). He crossed to France with the Division serving with his Unit’s Advanced Dressing Station on the Western Front. He proved a well-liked and popular officer and wrote home on a regular basis, the letters still kept by his family 100 years since his death.
In a letter his brother Edgar dated March 29th 1916 he wrote: “Trenches are dangerous as the Bosche trenches are very near and rifles are used a good deal. Their range is within150-180 yards. They are shot up into air and drop into opposing trenches and explode and make a jolly nasty wound and many deaths. Sat on edge of a crater last week 20 yards from Bosche who were on the other edge and had to speak in a whisper. This afternoon got into a sap and saw two periscopes of them moving at about 30-35 yards away at end of sap, also fired off a rifle grenade and then watched the effect of our rifle grenades, aimed at their trenches about 60 yards, but before they went one better and dropped three beauties on to us at 10 yards.”
On 10th July 1916 he was at the Battle of the Somme which had already raged for 10 days. At 04.00 he took out a group of stretcher-bearers to deal with heavy casualties suffered in an attack on a wood. He was within 20 yards of the wood helping the wounded when a German machine gun opened fire and he was shot twice. His Batman Private Jason Jones R.A.M.C. described what happened in a letter to Raymond’s Family: “…..he fell within 20 yards of the wood, with bullet through the right lung and one through the left thigh. I bandaged him up and with help carried him to shelter of the wood, where he died in about 20 minutes…….. We failed to carry the body from there until the following day, as there was such a large number of wounded……… There is one consolation the whole family may derive from his death and that is he gave his life for others nobly and fearlessly. We all mourn his loss greatly, he was so kind and thoughtful to all of us especially myself as I had served him as a servant from the time we were in England. Accept my sympathy in your great loss. I am your obedient servant. Jas. R Jones Pte 48819 ” .