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WW1 letters and diaries of
Liverpool 'Pal' published by grandson
THE Great War diaries of a Liverpool
'Pal' who was raised in Ormskirk and attended Ormskirk Grammar School have been
published by his grandson.
Eric Rigby Jones was just 16 years old when the war broke out. The privately
educated son of the owner of Ormskirk's rope works, he later signed up to join
the army and became a 2nd Lieutenant with the Liverpool Rifles, in 1915, which
was a month before he turned 18. He was transferred to the Liverpool Pals when
he arrived in France, at the beginning of 1917 and, that April, went into battle
with them for the 1st time, at Arras.
Now a captain, Eric was the only Officer in his battalion to fight throughout
the 6 weeks of the German Spring Offensive, in 1918, before being invalided home.
He was presented with the Military Cross and Bar for his bravery by the King at
Buckingham Palace, a week after his 21st birthday.
"After my father died, I found my grandfather's letters and diaries in the
old cigar box where they had always been kept..." recalls John
Rigby Jones, author of: 'Best Love To All.' The Letter and Diaries of Captain Eric
Rigby Jones Military Cross and Bar and his Experiences as a Young Officer with
the Liverpool Pals on the Western Front in 1917 and 1918. "Reading them helped me to connect with my grandfather, who died before I
was born. He signed many of his letters 'best love to all...' hence the title of
the book. It helped me understand what he was like in his youth. I'm told he
never spoke of his experiences after the war and that in later life he could
often appear remote. 1 particular account of being sent on what he thought was a
suicide mission in March 1918 always makes me cry. I am just amazed that he
managed to survive. To have been through all that by the time he reached his
21st birthday… I find it staggering."
John realised his grandfather's papers were worth sharing with a wider audience,
and secured a book deal with Helion and Company Ltd. 1 of the world's largest
military history publishers. He has visited the battlefields where Eric
Rigby Jones fought and read battalion diaries as part of his painstaking
research.
"Lord Derby's younger brother, Brigadier Stanley, was the Commanding
Officer of the Pals. He wrote in an appendix to his history of the Liverpool
Pals that only 4 of those who served with the Pals were awarded the Military
Cross and Bar. I feel proud that my grandfather was 1 of those people; he was an
exceptional man," says John, who plans to bequeath his grandfather's
medals to the Museum of Liverpool.
Oxford graduate John, who retired in 2015 and lives in Surrey, is now writing a
2nd book that explores what happened to his grandfather after the war.
He added:- "It's another extraordinary story that again deserves to be
told," "He became a leading industrialist in Ireland and founded his
company, Irish Ropes, in the disused British cavalry barracks in Newbridge, Co
Kildare in 1933."
'Best Love To All' was published this week and is available to purchase at:-
Helion.Co.UK and on Amazon.
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