To honour fearless journalist Gareth Jones, one of Barry’s finest sons, a call is being made to name a Waterfront square after him by Philip Colley, his great nephew and a leading authority on his life. The announcement will be made at a commemorative event, The Amazing Gareth Jones: A Life in Pursuit of Truth at 7pm on Wednesday, August 13th, at the Barry War Museum & Heritage Centre, Barry Island.
“We hope Gareth’s memory and true story can finally be celebrated in his beloved hometown,“ said Mr Colley. “Barry is the place to which he returned after each of his foreign travels and of which he always spoke with such affection in his writings.”
Gareth Jones courageously exposed the horrors of the 1930s Soviet famine, revealing the role of Stalin and his regime in the deaths of millions of Ukrainians, Kazakhs, and Russians. Defying Bolshevik efforts to conceal the tragedy, Jones’ principled resolve and courage ensured the world learned the truth.
His story was made famous the world over by the fictionalised film Mr. Jones.
There is currently a plaque at Aberystwyth University, an exhibition of his diaries at Cambridge University, and a commemorative plaque by Barry Town Council at Merthyr Dyfan cemetery in Barry, near his family’s gravestone to honour his memory. However, whilst five streets in Ukraine bear his name, his hometown of Barry has yet to honour him in a similar way.
Jones’ reports sparked international controversy when the New York Times, influenced by their correspondent’s collusion with the Soviet regime, denied his claims of famine. Despite being blackballed by parts of the British Establishment, he stood by his work, ensuring the truth prevailed. His remarkable life included encounters with historic figures like Adolf Hitler, Lenin’s widow Krupskaya, Frank Lloyd Wright, President Herbert Hoover, and Irish Taoiseach Eamon de Valera.
In 1935, while reporting on the Japanese invasion of Manchuria, Jones was captured by Chinese troops who had turned to banditry. After two weeks in captivity, exhausted and with the police in hot pursuit, he refused to mount his horse and was killed by three bullet wounds. A Foreign Office investigation at the time suggested Japanese involvement but mystery still surrounds his death. His ashes were later interred at Merthyr Dyfan cemetery, Barry.
David Lloyd George, for whom Jones had been employed as Foreign Affairs Adviser, on news of his death said, “He had a passion for finding out what was happening in foreign lands wherever there was trouble, and in pursuit of his investigations he shrank from no risk. Nothing escaped his observation, and he allowed no obstacle to turn from his course when he thought that there was some fact, which he could obtain. He had the almost unfailing knack of getting at things that matter.”
Gareth Jones’ fame faded but was revitalised thanks to Philip’s mother and Jones’ niece, Dr Margaret Siriol Colley. Her definitive 2005 biography More Than a Grain of Truth inspired renewed interest in the investigative journalist including a BBC Storyville documentary and the film Mr. Jones.
Born in Barry in 1905, Gareth attended Barry County School, where his father, Major Edgar Jones, was headmaster. His mother, Annie Gwen Jones, had worked in Russia as a tutor to the children of Arthur Hughes, son of Welsh steel industrialist John Hughes who founded the town of Hughesovka, modern-day Donetsk, in the Ukraine.
Campaigners say an unnamed public space in the Waterfront area next to the quayside of the former docks, a place often frequented by the young Gareth, is an ideal location to celebrate and recognise his life and inspiration.
Welcoming the celebration of one of the town’s finest sons, John Buxton, Chair of the Barry War Museum & Heritage Centre said, “In an increasingly uncertain world, it is now more than important than ever we uphold the memory and inspiration of people who gave their lives in the pursuit of truth.”
Further details about Gareth Jones can be found at the official web site produced by Philip’s late brother Nigel at www.garethjones.org.
Marking the 90th anniversary of Jones’ death, admission is free to the illustrated talk by Philip Colley, The Amazing Gareth Jones: A Life in Pursuit of Truth at 7pm on Wednesday August 13th at the Barry War Museum & Heritage Centre, Barry Island.
