An extremely rare and well-documented Great War Serbian Karageorge group of seven awarded to Chief Master Mechanic W. Jones, Royal Air Force, late “Balloon Section” Royal Engineers, and the 30th entrant on the strength of the newly established Royal Flying Corps: having won a “mention” in October 1914 for services with No. 3 Squadron out in France, he was awarded his Serbian decoration for like services with No. 30 Squadron in Mesopotamia 1915-17

Queen’s South Africa 1899-1902, 5 clasps, Cape Colony, Orange Free State, Transvaal, South Africa 1901, South Africa 1902 (7114 Sapr., R.E.); 1914 Star, with clasp (30 Sjt., R.F.C.); British War and Victory Medals, M.I.D. oak leaf (30 S.M. 1, R.A.F.); Royal Air Force L.S. & G.C., G.V.R., coinage head (30 S.M. 1, R.A.F.); Royal Air Force Meritorious Service Medal., G.V.R., coinage head (30 S.M. 1, R.A.F.); Serbian Karageorge Cross 1914-16, 1st class, with swords, silver, silver-gilt, the crown suspension on the last slightly dented, otherwise very fine and rather better (7) £2500-3000

William Jones, who was born at Jarrow, Durham in March 1882, enlisted in the Royal Engineers in November 1900 and quickly witnessed active service out in South Africa, where he served with the 47th Fortress Company, R.E., to which unit he was posted from the 57th Company in November 1901 - the recently published Medal Roll of the Corps of Royal Engineers, volume V, refers, including verification of the above described Medal and 5 clasps. But his subsequent transferral to the newly established Royal Flying Corps in May 1912 - entrant No. 30 - stemmed from his later appointment as a Lance-Corporal in No. 2 Balloon Company, R.E. in 1910, and afterwards with No. 2 Company Balloon School on mobilisation of the Air Battalion.

Jones arrived in France with No. 3 Squadron on 13 August 1914, was advanced to Flight Sergeant in the following month and was mentioned in Field Marshal Sir John French’s despatch of 8 October 1914. Next posted to the R.F.C’s Egyptian Detachment, in which country he arrived at the end of 1914, he was embarked for Mesopotamia at the end of 1915, in which theatre of war he remained employed as a Temporary Warrant Officer in No. 30 Squadron until early 1917, services that resulted in him being awarded the Serbian Karageorge, 1st class, with swords (London Gazette 15 February 1917 refers). Advanced to Chief Master Mechanic in the newly established Royal Air Force, he was awarded his L.S. & G.C. Medal in November 1918 and his M.S.M. in the following year, the latter for services back out in France with No. 148 Squadron from April 1918 until the end of hostilities (London Gazette 3 June 1919 refers). Having finally been re-mustered in the rank of S.M. 1 (Blacksmith), Jones was discharged at the end of 1921. He died in April 1971.
Sold with a superb array of original 1913-17 vintage photographs, comprising approximately 90 images, some of them pasted-down (and captioned in pencil) in the remnants of a photograph album, one or two of a photographic postcard format, subject matter very much of an aircraft / personnel nature and largely relating to the recipient’s active service in Egypt and Mesopotamia 1914-17; together with further documentation, including the recipient’s Army Small Book, with entries relating to his time in the R.E.; his M.I.D. certificate, in the name of ‘30 Sjt. W. Jones, Royal Flying Corps’, dated 8 October 1914; a printed summary of the ‘Operations of I.E.F. ‘D’ in Mesopotamia 1914-16’; 1915-16 maps of ‘Turkey in Asia - Parts of Iraq and Kuwait’ and ‘Zubair to Umm Qasr’; Christmas cards from Mesopotamia, 1916 and 1917; his warrant for appointment as Warrant Officer Class 1, R.F.C. (Military Wing), dated 13 November 1917 and warrant for appointment as Warrant Officer Class 1, R.A.F., dated 1 January 1920; and his R.A.F. Certificate of Service and Discharge, dated 11 November 1921.