General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

Sir Henry David Jones DCL (14 March 1791 – 4 August 1866) was a

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

officer who became

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

of the

Royal Military College, Sandhurst The Royal Military College (RMC) was a United Kingdom, British military academy for training infantry and cavalry Officer (armed forces), officers of the British Army, British and British Indian Army, Indian Armies. It was founded in 1801 at Gre ...

Life

He was the fifth son of John Jones by his wife, Mary, daughter of John Roberts, Esq., of

Landguard Fort Landguard Fort is a fort at the mouth of the River Orwell outside Felixstowe, Suffolk, designed to guard the mouth of the river. It is now managed by the charity English Heritage and is open to the public. History Originally known as Langer ...

, an officer 29th Foot, and was brother of Major-General Sir

John Thomas Jones Major General Sir John Thomas Jones, 1st Baronet (25 March 1783 – 26 February 1843) was a British officer in the Royal Engineers who played a leading engineering role in a number of European campaigns of the early nineteenth century. Jones w ...

, Bart., KCB, and uncle of Sir Willoughby Jones, Bart., of Cranmer Hall,

Fakenham Fakenham is a market town and civil parish in Norfolk, England. It is situated on the River Wensum, about north-west of Norwich. The town is at the junction of several local roads, including the A148 from King's Lynn to Cromer, the A1067 to N ...

, Norfolk. Educated at the

Royal Military Academy, Woolwich The Royal Military Academy (RMA) at Woolwich, in south-east London, was a British Army military academy for the training of Officer (armed forces), commissioned officers of the Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers. It later also trained officers o ...

, Jones was commissioned into the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is the engineering arm of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces ...

in September 1808.ICE Virtual Library
/ref> In 1809 he was involved in the attack on the fortress at Flushing during the

Walcheren Campaign The Walcheren Campaign () was an unsuccessful United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, British expedition to the Kingdom of Holland in 1809 intended to open another front in the Austrian Empire's struggle with First French Empire, France ...

. He then took part in the defence of Cadiz in 1809, the Siege of Badajoz in 1812, the

Battle of Vitoria At the Battle of Vitoria (21 June 1813), a United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, British, Kingdom of Portugal, Portuguese and Spanish Empire, Spanish army under the Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, Marquess of Wellington bro ...

in 1813 and the

Battle of Nivelle The Battle of Nivelle (10 November 1813) took place in front of the river Nivelle near the end of the Peninsular War (1808–1814). After the Allied siege of San Sebastian, Wellington's 80,000 British, Portuguese and Spanish troops (20, ...

in 1813. He was wounded while leading the

forlorn hope A forlorn hope is a band of soldiers or other combatants chosen to take the vanguard in a military operation, such as a suicidal assault through the breach of a defended position, or the first men to climb a scaling ladder against a defended ...

during the first assault at the

Siege of San Sebastián The siege of San Sebastián (7 July – 8 September 1813), part of the Peninsular War, Allied forces under the command of Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, Arthur Wellesley, Marquess of Wellington failed to capture the city in a sie ...

in September 1813. In February, 1815, he joined the army under General John Lambert on

Dauphin Island Dauphin Island, formerly Massacre Island (French language, French: ''Île du Massacre'') is an island town in Mobile County, Alabama, Mobile County, Alabama, United States, on a barrier island of the same name, in the Gulf of Mexico. It incorpora ...

, Alabama and was sent to

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

on special duty under a return American

flag of truce White flags have had different meanings throughout history and depending on the locale. Contemporary use The white flag is an internationally recognized protective sign of truce or ceasefire and for negotiation. It is also used to symbolize ...

. On his return to Europe he joined the army in the Netherlands, landing at Ostend on 18June 1815. He was appointed commanding engineer in charge of the fortifications on

Montmartre Montmartre ( , , ) is a large hill in Paris's northern 18th arrondissement of Paris, 18th arrondissement. It is high and gives its name to the surrounding district, part of the Rive Droite, Right Bank. Montmartre is primarily known for its a ...

, after the entrance or the British troops into

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

under the

Duke of Wellington Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they ar ...

. Jones was made a commissioner to the Prussian Army of Occupation in 1816 and went on special service to

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

in 1833. He was appointed Commissioner of Municipal Boundaries in England in 1835, chairman of the board of public works in

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

in 1845 and director of the Royal Engineer Establishment for Field Instruction at Chatham in 1851. He served in the

Crimean War The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...

commanding the British forces at the

Battle of Bomarsund The Battle of Bomarsund, in August 1854, took place during the Åland War, which was part of the Crimean War, when an Anglo- French expeditionary force attacked a Russian fortress. It was the only major action of the war to take place at ...

and then commanding the Royal Engineer forces at the Siege of Sevastopol. Afterwards he received the

Order of the Medjidie Order of the Medjidie (, August 29, 1852 – 1922) was a military and civilian order of the Ottoman Empire. The order was instituted in 1851 by Sultan Abdulmejid I. History Instituted in 1851, the order was awarded in five classes, with the Firs ...

, 2nd Class, the Baltic Medal and the

Crimea Medal The Crimea Medal was a campaign medal approved on 15 December 1854, for issue to officers and men of British units (land and naval) which fought in the Crimean War of 1854–1856 against Russia. The medal was awarded with the British version of ...

with clasp. In 1856 he became

of the

. He was created an honorary

Doctor of Civil Law Doctor of Civil Law (DCL; ) is a degree offered by some universities, such as the University of Oxford, instead of the more common Doctor of Laws (LLD) degrees. At Oxford, the degree is a higher doctorate usually awarded on the basis of except ...

(DCL) of the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

, and was honorary Colonel of the 4th Administrative Battalion, Cheshire Rifle Volunteer Corps. In 1859, he was appointed to serve on the

Royal Commission on the Defence of the United Kingdom The Royal Commission on the Defence of the United Kingdom was a committee formed in 1859 to enquire into the ability of the United Kingdom to defend itself against an attempted invasion by a foreign power, and to advise the British Government on ...

, whose recommendations prompted a huge programme of fortification for the British naval dockyards. He died after "an illness of some duration" on 4August 1866 and is buried in the cemetery at the

Royal Military Academy Sandhurst The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS or RMA Sandhurst), commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is one of several military academy, military academies of the United Kingdom and is the British Army's initial Commissioned officer, officer train ...

Cricket career

Jones was associated with

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

and was recorded in one first-class match in 1826, totalling 7 runs with a highest score of 6 and holding one catch.

Family

In 1824 Jones married Charlotte, daughter of the Reverend Thomas Hornsby, Vicar of

Ravensthorpe, Peterborough Ravensthorpe is a residential area and electoral ward of the city of Peterborough, in the ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England. Ravensthorpe County Primary School A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Austr ...

and Rector of

Hoddesdon Hoddesdon () is a town in the Borough of Broxbourne, Hertfordshire, lying entirely within the London Metropolitan Area and Greater London Urban Area. The area is on the River Lea and the Lee Navigation along with the New River. Hoddesdon ...

, by whom he had six sons and five daughters. His eldest son, Harry Valette Jones, died in 1863; his second son, Captain Arthur Jones,

2nd West India Regiment The West India Regiments (WIR) were infantry units of the British Army recruited from and normally stationed in the British colonies of the Caribbean between 1795 and 1927. In 1888 the two West India Regiments then in existence were reduced t ...

, died on the coast of Africa in 1861; and his fourth son, Montagu Hornsby Jones, Esq., an

ensign Ensign most often refers to: * Ensign (flag), a flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality * Ensign (rank), a navy (and former army) officer rank Ensign or The Ensign may also refer to: Places * Ensign, Alberta, Alberta, Canada * Ensign, Ka ...

of the 84th Regiment of Foot, died in 1859.

Legacy

The Memorials to Governors in the Chapel of the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst includes: ''In Memory of Lieut.-General Sir Harry D. Jones, G.C.B., Royal Engineers, who died as Governor of these Royal Military Colleges on the 22nd August 1866. This Tablet was erected by his brother officers in admiration of his character and distinguished services.''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Harry 1791 births 1866 deaths British Army generals Governors of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Royal Engineers officers People from Felixstowe British Army personnel of the Crimean War British Army personnel of the Napoleonic Wars English cricketers English cricketers of 1826 to 1863 19th-century British sportsmen Middlesex cricketers Burials in Berkshire Military personnel from Suffolk