The day's high work is over and done,
And these no more will need the sun:
Blow, you bugles of England, blow!
******
That her Name like a sun among stars might glow
Till the dusk of time with honour and worth:
That, stung by the lust and the pain of battle,
The One Race ever might starkly spread
And the One Flag eagle it overhead!
In a rapture of wrath and faith and pride,
Thus they felt it and thus they died.
******
Blow, you bugles of England, blow!

W. E. Henley: "The Last Post."

The circumstances in which Lieutenant H. P. M. Jones met his death are described in the following letters sent to me by Major Haslam, his commanding officer, and Corporal Jenkins, the N.C.O. in his Tank:

Corporal D. C. Jenkins wrote:

I have been asked by your son's crew to write to you, as I was his N.C.O. in the Tank. Your son, Lieut. H. P. M. Jones, was shot by a sniper. The bullet passed through the port-hole and entered your son's brain. Death was almost instantaneous. I and Lance-Corporal Millward, his driver, did all we could for your son, but he was beyond human help. His death is deeply felt not only by his own crew, but by the whole section. His crew miss him very much. It was a treat to have him on parade with us, as he was so jolly. We all loved him. Fate was against us to lose your son. He was the best officer in our company, and never will be replaced by one like him. I and the rest of the crew hope that you will accept our deepest sympathy in your sorrow.

Paul Jones had touched life at so many points—Dulwich College, the athletic world, the Army, journalism, the House of Commons, and Wales—that the news of his death caused grief in far-extending circles. Of the hundreds of letters of condolence that reached us I propose to reproduce a few here. They are unvarying in their testimony to his idealism, his personal charm and the nobility of his nature. Extracts from his last letter, published in the Daily Chronicle, the Western Mail, Cardiff, and Public Opinion, attracted considerable attention.

Lieutenant Jack Donaldson, who, as an A.S.C. officer, was attached to the 2nd Cavalry Brigade in the winter of 1916-17, wrote:

From Captain Maurice Drucquer, barrister-at-law, now serving in the A.S.C.:

I want to tell you how grieved I was to hear of the loss of your son. He received his commission the same day as I did, and we were posted to the same station. I only enjoyed his company for three months, as he was sent abroad. During that short period he had endeared himself to all of us, his brother officers, though we were many years his senior in age. What appealed to me most in Paul was the combination in him of boyhood and manhood. There was not the slightest attempt at pretence, not the slightest sign of precociousness, no desire to ape the tone or the airs of those among whom he worked. On another side of his character he was in every respect a man. He tackled all problems of a serious nature with a grasp of the subject which might well be the envy of a thoughtful man. One could not enter into conversation with him without at once perceiving that he must have given much thought and study to the everyday affairs of life. His knowledge of literature was great, and one was surprised, even abashed, at his store. His hours off duty were spent well and wisely. A certain period was always given to healthy exercise, and then would come, almost as a matter of course, hours of fruitful reading. The affectionate part of his nature came out in his relations with the people with whom he lodged. He earned the affection of the whole household, and the lady of the house has often told me that she loved him like her own sons. I saw much in Paul that I cannot put into writing, and I think he had the spirit to see certain truths which we see all too dimly.

Mr. George Smith, M.A., Headmaster of Dulwich College since the autumn of 1914, writes:

It was with deep regret that I learned of Paul's death, and I feel most sincerely for you all in your great sorrow. As you know, I was brought very closely into touch with him as soon as I came to Dulwich. He was the captain of the XV and of the football of the College during my first year; and I relied on him mainly for the organising and inspiring of the games. There his energy and keenness were invaluable to us. Then, as a prefect, he used to bring his essays every week; and I was greatly impressed by his intellectual power and promise. I remember how full his essays were of matter; how ready he was to grasp and to originate new ideas; how vividly and emphatically he expressed himself. We looked forward to a brilliant and useful career for him. But it was not to be. It is very hard to lose him. But he has done his duty; and he leaves behind him a memory that we of the old school must especially cherish and honour.

The Reverend A. H. Gilkes, Vicar of St. Mary Magdalene, Oxford, formerly Headmaster of Dulwich College, in a touching tribute to the "noble character of your brave, dear and able son," said: "I sympathise with you fully and deeply. It means little, I know, to you in your trouble, but I trust it means something, that your son was so much loved and admired, and is so sadly missed by so many. He was fearless, strong and capable, and his heart was as soft and kind as a heart can be. I thought that he would do great things; and indeed, sad though it is, I do not know that he could have done a greater."

Mr. J. A. Joerg, principal of the Modern Side, Dulwich College, a gentleman of German antecedents, for whom my son had a high and an unalterable regard, wrote:

It was with the greatest horror that I read of the fall in action of your hero-son Paul. I read his noble character during the many years he was with me, and I recognised and admired the great sense of justice and duty and loyalty that were such prominent features with him. His deep gratitude for anything that was done for him will always be remembered by me. He was a noble boy. I shall always reverence his memory.

Mr. P. Hope, Classical master at Dulwich, to whom Paul owed much when studying English literature, and whom he always recalled with affection, sent me a pen-picture of my son limned with insight and love:

Mr. E. H. Gropius, who was captain of the school in 1914, when my son was at the head of the Modern Side, writes:

A young German, Mr. Gerald Roederwald, a fellow-student with my son in the Modern Sixth, wrote:

I did not think that Paul would ever be able to get into the firing-line at all, but it was just like him to seek the thick of danger. Reading his last letter it seemed to me just as though we were still at school together in the midst of an argument. Often have I thought of "H. P. M." as we used to call him at school. We all liked him. What a career his would surely have been! It was an accepted tradition amongst us that old "H. P. M." would one day astonish the world. Those who knew him well derived great benefit from his cultured mind. I myself owe more than I can express to your son's influence over me. No one who came near him could help coming under the spell of his personality. His remarkable intellectual gifts made us feel that he was our superior. Not only that, his great stature seemed to be the essence of his whole being. I mean that everything about him was on a large scale. Nature had gifted him with a generous, open mind, which was incapable of taking in anything that was small or mean. Whenever Paul spoke to me his eyes seemed to probe into the depths of my whole being. As long as I live I shall never forget him. His spirit is with me always, for it is to him that I owe my first real insight into Life.

From Mr. Raymond T. Young, Felsted School:

I knew Paul as a small boy at Brightlands ten years ago. He was in my form and had already begun to show great promise intellectually and as a sound and splendid boy. Afterwards I came across him when he played such a fine game for the Dulwich Rugger side. Had he been spared, I quite think he would have taken a "Blue" at forward for Oxford. You must comfort yourselves with the constant thought that you have given for England one whose whole life was as perfect and true as it was full of promise of great things; and also you must be very proud of having had so much to give.

The Master of Balliol (Mr. Arthur L. Smith), writing on 21st August, 1917, said:

In sending you the official condolences of the college on the death of your brilliant son, I should like also to express personally my own feelings of the very successful career that was open to him at Oxford, which, like so many of our best young scholars, he gave up without a moment's hesitation to serve his country and the world in this great crisis. Such a change is surely not all loss if we could see things in their true proportion and in their realities; but meantime the loss must indeed be severe to you, because you must have been justly proud of him on so many grounds. I remember how he struck me in the scholarship examination by the excellent way in which he put some very vigorous good sense, particularly on the subject of the character of Oliver Cromwell; and I see that my notes refer to him as "showing much vivacity of expression," "sound reading," "strong mental grasp and excellent arrangement and method." He also made "a most pleasing and favourable impression in 'viva voce.'" He would have been a very leading and, in the best sense, popular man in the college. His last letter is one of the finest even of the many fine letters that have been written under such circumstances during the last few years.

A high official at the War Office wrote:

In this great and cruel crisis I have had before me many things which have evoked the deepest sympathy of my heart; but I know of nothing which has distressed me more than the sad blow which you have received. Your son's whole life and his outlook on life appealed to me in a remarkable way. There was nothing mean or small in his physical form or his mental equipment; and his fine, strong joy of life, and his love for the everlasting ideals made an impression on my mind which will not readily be erased. It is not so well known as it should be how manfully he overcame every obstacle to make himself the most perfect defender of his country and how ardently he strove with a hero's heart to place his glorious gifts upon the altar of his country. He was all that the most exacting paternal standards could demand. Now that his sun has gone down while it is yet day, with all its brilliant past and all its brilliant prospects, I join with your many friends in the sincere and heartfelt hope that the courage, consolation and pride which come to those who have "nurtured the brave to do brave things" may be yours in largest measure in your hour of sore trial.

From Mr. Lionel Jones, Science headmaster, Birmingham Technical School:

I believe ours was the first house Paul visited, and I have followed his career with interest and with, indeed, a sense of pride. We had expected him to do great things; yet he has done greater, for his last letter shows he had grasped the inner meanings of Life and Death more clearly than we do, and was content to sink the lesser in the greater Being.

From Mr. Hugh Spender, Parliamentary correspondent of the Westminster Gazette:

I had the privilege of meeting your son, and I shall always carry a very lively recollection of him. He was so modest that I did not realise what a distinguished college career he had had. But he impressed me very vividly with the strength of his personality, remarkable in one so young. There was an air of radiant gaiety about him which sprang from a pure heart and a lofty purpose. I realised that he must have had a very great influence for good. This thought must be a great consolation to you in your grief. Here was a life "sans peur et sans reproche," a light to brighten the footsteps of every man who knew of him.

A well-known Professor, himself a Balliol history scholar, wrote:

I only met your son once, but I liked him much, and from the time he got the Brakenbury the promise of his future career at Balliol had a very special interest for me. I felt sure he was destined to do great things. It is tragic to know that that destiny will now never be realised; but he has done greater things; he has done the greatest thing of all. That he should have joined the Army so early and pressed for transfer to the machine-gun corps—a unit which occupies posts of the greatest danger, and is required to hold them at all costs and against all odds—makes his achievement all the more memorable. Your sorrow must indeed be great, and almost intolerable, but the thought of such a high and fearless devotion will, I trust, do something to assuage it.

From Mr. William Hill, an old journalistic friend of mine:

From Mrs. Denbigh Jones, Llanelly:

"Wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business?" That has been the ideal of these brave young souls. From one great joy to another your glorious boy led you on. He lived and moved with an intensity and a fullness beyond our slow dreams, as if rushing to consume everything in life worth reaching and learning in the given time. The intoxication of life which possessed him will shine for ever in your memory, as it was not of earth. He scaled the topmost crags of duty, and now his young voice still calls to us "far up the heights."

My son's nurse, for whom he had a warm and abiding affection, married Mr. W. W. Jones, of Llanelly, who wrote:

On behalf of my wife, his devoted and loving nurse Nan, and myself, we extend to you our most heartfelt and sincere sympathy in this great catastrophe of your lives through the death in action of your dear son Paul, whilst fighting for the rights of justice, humanity and freedom. He died like the hero he was. My wife was greatly distressed and painfully grieved when she learnt of the cruel loss you have sustained. Paul's name was a household word in our home. She always spoke of him as such a noble, unselfish and virtuous boy, good in spirit, great of heart. It is hard that he should be taken, his life already so rich in achievements and with its promise of a brilliant and golden future. By his death it is not only you, his parents, who will suffer; but Paul, being in himself a great democrat—which in these days we can ill afford to lose—the democracies of the world will suffer by the loss of such a gallant and noble gentleman.

From a man of letters:

From the editor of a London daily newspaper:

It is infinitely tragic to hear day by day of this waste of the life of brilliant young men who were the hope of the future. And yet we must not say that it is waste. If we say that, then there is no mitigation of the sorrow. The price is appalling, but we must believe that it is being paid for a treasure the world cannot live without; and if that treasure is won, your sorrow will at least be assuaged by the thought that it is not in vain, and that what you have lost the world has gained.

From a friend and colleague on the Daily Chronicle:

My wife idolised Paul for his lovableness and nobility. The vision we had of him in his splendid youth has been made unforgettable by his glorious sacrifice.

From a Welsh editor:

The memory of Paul's rare and great qualities and the definite promise he gave of a very brilliant career will ever remain fragrantly in your hearts and in those of your friends who had the happiness to know him.

From an Irish editor:

I was impressed no less by his unaffected modesty than by his evident ability and high character. Many as have been the brilliant young lives lost in this war, there can have been but few which carried such high promise as his.

From a Scottish journalist:

The Greeks summed up human virtue in a phrase which can hardly be bettered—?a??? ?a? ??a???. In the promise of his life, and even more in the grandeur of his death, your son was ?a??? ?a? ??a???.

From a Dulwich schoolboy:

I can say nothing beyond this, that I feel certain Dulwich will not forget. From his uncle, Mr. Brinley R. Jones, Llanelly:

A colleague of mine in the Press Gallery wrote:

He was a fine fellow and you had good reason to be proud of him. I was greatly struck by his last letter. It breathes a splendid spirit and reminds me of a passage in my favourite essay in Stevenson: "In the hot fit of life, a-tip-toe on the highest point of being, he passes at a bound on to the other side."

An old friend who knew Paul well and whose two sons were educated at Dulwich College wrote:

I grieve beyond measure at the passing of so noble-hearted a man. He, like others who have gone down in this horrible war, was of the very flower of our race—he even more than most of them; and the nation's loss is great, too. There are consolations even in such an affliction as yours; and the highest consolation of all must be that Paul willingly laid down his life for his fellow-men. From Major David Davies, M.P., Llandinam:

Of the many messages that reached us, none touched a deeper chord than the following:

A young Welsh musician wrote:

I cannot express how intensely I feel for you in your great sorrow at the death of Paul. Of surpassing intellect and noble ideals, he would have been invaluable to the country in the near future. I feel sure it must be a source of great pride and comfort to you that he made the supreme sacrifice in such a courageous way, so becoming to his noble soul. He will live for all time in my mind as the very essence of honour and idealism.

"That was a wonderful letter," writes a newspaper proprietor. "I have read nothing finer. It brought tears to my eyes, but it made me proud of my race."

The athletic editor of a London newspaper, who is an authority on public-school athletics, wrote:

In your son's death we have lost a model sportsman. I will long remember him, as will Dulwich and the young giants of the school he so splendidly led.

From an official of the House of Commons:

I have prayed earnestly that there may be comfort in your mourning, and in due time a binding-up of hearts so sorely broken. The record of his school life, vivid with success and leadership and, best of all, whole-hearted in its purity, wrung my heart as I thought of what had been lost to us. But I believe he has passed on to other service.

"A life nobly lived and nobly died—the ideal"—such was the comment of an old colleague of mine, who has himself since lost a promising soldier son. "I venture to say," he added, "that his noble letter, written almost on the eve of his death, will carry healing to thousands and thousands of sorely-stricken hearts in these sad times. It should be printed in letters of gold."

"Be sure," wrote an old Cardiff friend, "in all your sorrow that He who fashioned your boy so well and equipped him so fully, still has him in His own kind care and keeping; and that when you 'carry on,' bearing your load bravely, your dear boy will be nearer to you than you often think, in some splendid service, too."

"It is such noble sacrifices as your son's," wrote a well-known M.P., "that almost alone redeem the horror of this world-wide catastrophe."

From M. Marsillac, London correspondent of Le Journal (Paris):

What a truly magnificent spirit was shown in that letter of your son! Indeed, we who remain behind are more to be pitied than those who go forth into Eternal Peace by such a noble and luminous road.

Mr. Alexander Mackintosh, its Parliamentary correspondent, writing in the British Weekly, said:

Lieutenant Paul Jones, as an occasional visitor, was familiar to the Press Gallery. Oxford has lost another young man of unusual gifts, a scholar and an athlete, as modest as he was brave, and the Gallery has a sense of personal loss. Yet it bids his father say, in the beautiful apostrophe which Rustum puts into the mouth of the snow-headed Zal:

"O son! I weep thee not too sore,
For willingly, I know, thou met'st thine end!"