A retired nurse who tragically lost two elder brothers at sea in the Second World War has welcomed the start of work to renovate the Cenotaph in Holyhead where they are commemorated.
Sarah Jones was just a schoolgirl in the Anglesey town when her brothers Ernest and Idris John Jones died, at sea like so many men from the port who served with the Royal and Merchant Navies.
Ernest’s loss was especially tragic as he died in an accident shortly after the ship he was on, the Flying Kite, was involved in the recovery of the submarine Thetis which sank during trials in Liverpool Bay in 1939 with the loss of 99 men.
Mrs Jones, 82, whose family home was at 13, Kingsland, in Holyhead, said: “I’m very pleased that the Cenotaph is to be restored to pristine condition. It is an important monument to so many people from the town who lost their lives.
“It is right that we remember their sacrifice and that we maintain the Cenotaph in their memory.”
Ernest was 18 when he was killed in an accident during the refit of his ship at Greenock on the River Clyde at Glasgow and Mrs Jones, whose mother died when she was just three, said: “He was only young and was only thinking about getting some wages to send home to our stepmother.
“His body was brought home by my father Richard Jones, who was himself a survivor of the ill-fated Tara, torpedoed in the First World War, to be buried with his mother in Maeshyfryd Cemetery and I go there as often as I can.
“My other brother, Idris John Jones went into the Royal Navy and I remember going to the local Post Office to collect his Naval Allowance
“He had just sent home a photograph of himself, he was barely 18 and he died when serving on a landing craft on the North Africa coast in the Mediterranean.”
That was in February, 1943, and she added: “I remember coming home from school and the curtains of our house were all drawn and I couldn’t make out why – I was only 12.
“The family used to go to Ebenezer Chapel in Kingsland and at the entrance there was a memorial with the names of all members, including both my brothers, who had perished in the war.
“When the chapel was sold a photograph of the memorial was given to me as a gift which I deeply treasure.”
Mrs Jones, who has three children, as well as grandchildren and great-grandchildren, trained as a nurse in Liverpool before returning to Holyhead to work as a sister at the Stanley Hospital and later at the Gors Hospital in Holyhead.
She married her husband, Glyn, a police officer, there and they lived in Newborough for many years.
They are both retired and reside in Rhos on Sea but their youngest son, also named Glyn, is part of the team from the Planning Service of the County Council which is responsible for the restoration of the historic Cenotaph.
It was unveiled on September 15, 1923, modelled on the Cenotaph in Whitehall, and was made of Cornish granite with bronze reliefs and inscriptions in Welsh and English and extra tablets have been added to number the dead since then.
The restoration is being supervised by specialist architects Purcell Miller Tritton who are responsible for such iconic buildings as Westminster Abbey and St Paul’s Cathedral.
The structure will be repointed and the original design of bollards and chains which surround it will be reinstated while special cleaning techniques will be used to remove the algal growth and moss that have accumulated and to wash off the verdigris from the bronze tablets which will be rewaxed with the lettering restored.
Work has started with specialists William Taylor Masonry of Buckley the main contractors and the Cenotaph is due to be back in its original 1923 condition in time for Remembrance Sunday on November 13.
William Taylor, whose company specialises in conservation stonework and has worked on a number of prestigious projects including Plas Newydd on Anglesey and the Metropolitan Cathedral in Liverpool, said: “We’re doing stone repairs and cleaning and lettering.
“The Cenotaph is actually in very good condition although it has suffered from being moved and rebuilt in the past but from our point of view it has weathered very well and the work is going well.”
The renovation is the first part of the £3.2 million Holyhead Townscape Heritage Initiative, a two and a half year project to repair and encourage the reuse of many of Holyhead town centre’s historic buildings.
Commissioner Alex Aldridge of Isle of Anglesey County Council said: “There is a lot of history and a lot of affection for the Cenotaph locally. You only have to look at many of the names to see that those families still live in Holyhead and in other parts of Anglesey.”
“The County Council are very pleased to be working in partnership with the Town Council in delivering a much needed restoration scheme for this important structure”
The plans of the proposed renovation are available for inspection at Holyhead Town Hall.
