150 AWARDED FOR VALOUR
heroism, some formula that mandated ‘x’ number of heroes for ‘y’ number
of troops involved.^77 The lower number of VCs awarded in 1916 was
unusual, however, and may have contributed to altering the actual circum-
stances of bravery to make an act more acceptable for public consumption.
Such is the case of Thomas Alfred ‘Todger’ Jones:
On 25 September 1916 at Morval, France Private Jones was with his
company covering the advance in front of a village, when he noticed an
enemy sniper 200 yards away. He went out and, although one bullet
went through his helmet and another through his coat, he returned the
sniper’s fire and killed him. He then saw two more Germans firing on
him although they were displaying a white flag. Both these he shot. On
reaching the enemy trench he found several occupied dug-outs and single-
handedly disarmed 102 of the enemy, including three or four officers,
and took them prisoner.^78
Todger Jones actually did venture out into no-man’s-land, kill a sniper, and
bring back 102 prisoners. But it did not happen quite the way the official
citation had it.^79
Jones was a character in the regiment, and a regular recipient of the
nastier work details for disciplinary reasons. As he himself later reported, ‘I
really did some things I shouldn’t have done.’^80 On the day in question he
and another soldier, a relative of his from Runcorn, had been detailed to
empty the ‘honey-tubs’ from the company latrine. He ‘noticed’ the sniper
when his kinsman was shot dead and he was drenched with the contents of
the tub in the process. He stalked the sniper, disposed of him, and started
looking for other Germans to kill in retribution. After killing two more men
in no-man’s-land, he entered the German trench line. There he discovered a
large dugout. He entered, fired a round into the ceiling and shouted ‘Hande
hoch!’ Surprised by the appearance of a British soldier, the inhabitants of the
bunker surrendered.
Well over a hundred Germans filed out into the trench. When they
realized that there was only one enemy anywhere near their lines, some of
them tried to escape. Jones killed two, rapid-firing his rifle from the hip;
the rest froze. Jones got them organized and started them back across to the
British lines. His mates, who did not even know he was gone, saw a clump
of Germans crossing no-man’s-land and opened fire, killing many of them
before Jones managed to wave them off. One hundred and two survived to
be marched off to the rear by Todger Jones.
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