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Arthur Rowland Jones
Born in 1880 Arthur Rowland Jones lived with his wife Margaret and son Rowland (born in 1910) at the 'Nook', Chapel Road, Prestatyn, opposite to where the magistrates court is today on Victoria Road.Arthur was first officer on Titanic's sister ship the ill-fated luxury ocean liner The Lusitania sunk by a German u-boat off the coast of Southern Ireland in 1915.Of the 1,959 on board only 761 survived, and Arthur Rowland Jones was instrumental in saving a number of these lives by personally assisting to launch the life boats, and saw to the safety of the women and the children.
As he was rowing away eighty survivors Arthur saw an empty life boat floating nearby and transfered forty survivors from his lifeboat on to the empty life boat, and under his supervision returned with both life boats to the sinking ship to rescue those who were either floating or swimming, until both lifeboats had a full complement.The Royal Naval boat H.M.S. Bluebell subsequently came to their assistance.
Following their arrival at Liverpool the survivors were required to give depositions of their experiences of the sinking, and all paid a high tribute to the gallant and courageous behaviour of first officer Rowland Jones who had saved the lives of many of The Lusitania's passengers and crew.On an unlucky stroke of fate Arthur Rowland Jones was later killed while serving as a captain on the iron ore carrying ship The Avanti, when it was torpedoed and sunk by a German submarine in the Irish Channel in 1918, he was 38 years of age.
Arthur Rowland Jones is buried at Prestatyn's Parish Churchyard.An inscription on the headstone of this Prestatyn hero erected by his wife reads "To my beloved husband Arthur Rowland Jones first officer of the Lusitania and afterwards captain of the Avanti.I hope to see my pilot face to face when i have crossed the bar"!
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