Engineer William Thomas Jones survived the sinking of RMS Leinster. He was in the Stokehold when the first torpedo struck. He instructed the Firemen to leave and soon followed them when the Leinster was again torpedoed causing catastrophic damage. As the vessel was sinking Mr Jones jumped into the water and clung onto a raft with a number of others until rescued by a destroyer and taken to Kingstown (Dun Laoghaire).
The photograph above is of part of the Leinster display at the Holyhead Maritime Museum. It includes William Thomas Jones’ Mercantile Marine Medal and also two ‘Torpedo Badges’ issued to those surviving a submarine attack. Those shown are of gold thread and were issued to ship’s officers. Ordinary seamen would have received similar badges but coloured red.
The account of Mr. Jones’ experience was extracted from an article published in the Chronicle shortly after the tragedy.
RMS Leinster 1918 - 2018 