Peterchurch, Hereford

Richard and I have spend the last couple of days in Herefordshire, Peterchurch to be exact.  We stayed at the Boughton Arms which was great as it was just across the road from the cemetery that contained the grave of Private Robert Jones VC.  Richard is very interested in the Zulu war and when he found out about the grave he wanted to visit and pay his respects.

The story of Robert Jones is very sad, he fought in and survived the Zulu war at Rorkes Drift and was awarded the Victoria Cross. With William Jones, he defended one of the wards of the hospital until six of the seven patients had been removed. The seventh man was delirious, and all attempts to induce him to leave were in vain and he was stabbed to death by a Zulu. Robert was 21 at the time of the defence.

Robert Jones died on 6 September 1898 and is thought to have taken his own life, although he is buried in Peterchurch graveyard his grave faces the wrong way and his coffin was taken into the yard over a wall rather than through the gate.  I find it hard to believe that this man would take his own life nearly 20 years after the war, there is an ongoing campaign to have the verdict overturned.

Gravestone of Private Robert Jones

Boughton Arms, Peterchurch