Casgliadau Arlein

Edward Medal awarded to Ben Littler Jones

"Blasting was about to take place at the Llysfaen Quarry, Caernarvonshire, on the morning of the 21st May 1938. All the men with the exception of three, Williams, Jones and Roberts, whose duty it was to light the fuses, had been withdrawn from the danger zone. Williams had lighted one fuse, Jones two, and Roberts three when Roberts trod on a stone which tipped up and trapped his foot so that he could not move. The shots were timed to go off in 80 seconds, and Roberts was in imminent danger of being killed. Williams and Jones tried to release Roberts, and failing to do so, Williams shouted to the others to pull out the fuses and promptly pulled out four himself. Jones pulled out one and Roberts the other. In doing so they ran considerable risk; had any one of the detonators exploded, it would certainly have had serious or even fatal results. The proptitude and courage of Williams and Jones undoubtedly saved the life of Roberts at grave risk to their own safety."

From: National Archives documents HO45 / 18264 C452815