Douglas Norman Jones

A Private with the 7th Battalion, Douglas died on 3rd of July 1916 at the age of 21.

Douglas was born at Lowestoft on 6 March 1895, a son of Norman Buckingham and Mildred Nellie Jones. He was baptised at Saint Margaret’s Church, Lowestoft, on 13 June 1900 and his family lived at 64 Beresford Road. Douglas attended the British School and, from 15 April 1910, was a pupil at Lowestoft School of Science. In 1911 his family lived at 47 Alexandra Road and Douglas was a rope merchant’s clerk. Later his parents lived at 14 Trafalgar Street. Before the war Douglas was an assistant in his father’s business.  

Douglas volunteered to join the Army. He enlisted at Lowestoft in 1914 and joined the Suffolk Regiment, service number 9185. He served with the 7th Battalion and was with the Battalion when they landed at Boulogne on 30 May 1915.

On 3 July 1916 the 7th Battalion took part in a frontal attack on the village of Ovillers, in the Somme region of France. Although initially successful the attack faulted because, when in the village, German troops were able to infiltrate the successive lines of the British attack and inflicted heavy casualties. The 7th Battalion lost 21 officers, and 458 men, killed wounded or missing, but some of those missing did return to the battalion in the following days.

Douglas was among those killed in action on 3 July 1916.