The Coolidge examiner., 1941-09-26
Letter From Wales
Tells of Rifles
Sent By R. J. Jones

A letter from Lieutenant ]. d.
Thomas, Llandyssul, Wales, (birth-
place of the late r. ]. Jones) tell
ing of the disposition of the
rifles Mr.. Jones was collecting
here before his death and shipping
to Wales for use by his boyhood
friends in home defense, was re-
ceived here Friday by Mrs. Jones.
The letter, mailed July 3Oth, was
81 days en- route over war torn
areas.
Daft Evans, of whom the letter
speaks, is Mr.. Jones nephew. A
previous letter informed Mrs.
Jones that the last shipment of
rifles Mr.. Jones sent, shortly be-
fore his death, was sunk with the
S. S. Massdan. An uncompleted
lot of rifles was sent to Wales
by Mrs. Jones after her husbands
death. She was informed in a let
ter from Mr.. Evans that a box
from here was at the depot in
Wales, which, no doubt, is the fin
al lot, making a total of 26 rifles
which were collected here by Mr..
Jones and received at destination.
Mrs. Jones wishes to thank all
those who contributed toward her
husbands endeavor, ands made his
desire to aid old friends in their
hour of need, possible.
Lieutenant Thomas letter fol-
lows:
Clettwr View
Capel Devil
Llandyssul
Cardiganshire, Wales
July 80, 1941
Mrs. r. j. Jones
Dear Madam,
| would like in the first place to
tender to you my very sincere
sympathy in the death of your
husband, Mr.. r. ]. Jones, the news
of which came as a great shock
to us in this neighborhood who
knew him so well. Mr.. Jones and
| are about the same age; we
therefore knew one another quite
well when we were youngsters in
the same district. Later | went to
England to earn my living in a
bank and to some extent lost
touch with my native heath but
during one of my vacations some
years ago | had the pleasure of
meeting again Mr.. Jones, who had
also returned to visit his people.
1t was a very real pleasure to
spend an evening in his company.
The purpose of this letter is,
however, more of an official char
acter and in my capacity as the
Platoon Commander of the Home
Guard in the districts of Pontshaen
and Prengwyn, wish to offer to
you on behalf of myself and the
members of the home guard our
great thanks for the magnificent
gift of rifles and ammunition
which Mr.. Jones so kindly for
warded to us. | understand from
Mr.. William Jones, his brother,
that the rifles sent number 38 and
when they all arrive-which we
expect will happen very shortly,
it is our intention to parade the
home guard and to march from
the guard room to Pontshaen there
to receive ceremonially from Mr..
William Jones or his brother, the
rifles and the ammunition. The
Company Commander of the local
home guard has also promised to
attend and l have no doubt a full
account of the ceremony will ap-
pear in the Gazette. The rifle
earmarked for Mr.. Daft Evans,
will. of course, be handed to him
and we are much obliged to Mr..
Evans for his share in the deliv-
ery of the rifles and in the cor
respondence with the committee
through which the rifles were
consigned.
1t would naturally have been our
wish to have seen the late Mr..
Jones surviving long enough TO
receive this token of our graft
tude himself, but as it was ordaln-
ed otherwise we would like you
to know how much we appreciate
first his thought for the needs OF
his native place, then his discov-
ery of a means to send the rifles,
and his great hearted generosity
in sending so many rifles and SO
much ammunition - a truly great
example of a Welshman's love for
his country when that country Is
in peril.
Again my thanks and those OF
nv fellow home guardsmen.