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Link bold italics text. Capt. John Treasure Jones (15 August 1905 – 12 May 1993) is a distinguished British mariner. He became a well-known media figure in the mid-1960s following his appointment as the last Master of the famous Cunard liner, RMS Queen Mary.

Early years
Treasure Jones was born on 18 August 1905, at Cuckoo Mill Farm at Pelcomb Cross, outside Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire. In 1917 he gained a scholarship to Haverfordwest Grammar School but did not complete his formal education as the possibility of employment on a ship came along, just a week before taking his final examinations. In 1921, not yet 16, he signed on for a four years apprenticeship with JC Gould Steamship Co Ltd of Cardiff. He first joined the SS Grelgrant, a 4,785 ton tramp ship, and later transferred to SS Grelhead. Outward-bound they delivered coal from the South Wales coalfields to bunkering stations around the world and returned with cargoes of grain.



Having completed his apprenticeship, he attended Nautical School in Cardiff. He then joined Hall Bros of Newcastle in 1926 and in August 1929 he joined the White Star Line as a Junior Officer first on SS Euripides. After the Great Depression set in and shipping fell on bad day, the Company sent him to do twelve months Reserve training in the Royal Navy in 1930, after which he was laid-off. After working briefly for Leyland Line ships at the docks in Liverpool, he returned to sea in July 1934 with the Blue Funnel Line.

In 1937 he joined the Cunard White Star Line and his first liner, the 16,243 ton liner RMS Lancastria and when the war started he was Senior Third Officer in the 26,943 ton RMS Britannic. He had joined the Royal Naval Reserve as a Probationary Midshipman in 1923.
 * losing the chronology here ***

On completion of his apprenticeship in 1925, aged 20, he did six months training as a Midshipman in HMS Hood, followed by HMS Velox and HMS Ajax.

In August 1929, at 24, he was promoted to Lieutenant RNR.

In 1930-31 he served six months afloat in the Aircraft Carrier HMS Glorious and four months in the Destroyer HMS Viscount on the Mediterranean Station.

In August 1937 he was promoted to Lieutenant Commander RNR.

War service
From September 1939 he served as navigator of the Armed Merchant Cruiser AMC Laurentic (formerly SS Laurentic of the Cunard White Star Line). On 4 November 1940 she was torpedoed and sunk, 300 miles west of the Bloody Foreland in Ireland, with the loss of around 50 lives. The 367 survivors were adrift for about six hours.

The following month he was appointed Commander of HMS Sunflower, a new Flower-class corvette, which was employed escorting Atlantic convoys. On 17 December 1942, while escorting Convoy ON 153, HMS Firedrake the escort group commander's ship, was torpedoed by U-211 and sunk. HMS Sunflower picked up 27 survivors in 60-foot high waves and took over command of the convoy escort, for which the captain was Mentioned in Dispatches.

In 1943 he was promoted Commander RNR and commanded HMS Wellington, HMS Bayntun (one of the first Captain Class Frigates built in Boston, Mass. for the Admiralty) and then HMS Dart, in command of 49th Escort Group in the Mediterranean.

In June 1945 he was promoted Acting-Captain RNR as Divisional Sea Transport Officer of the Netherlands East Indies, based in Java, Batavia.

He was demobbed in March 1947 but remained in the Naval Reserve.

He was promoted to captain RNR on 31 December 1949 and retired from the service in 1960.

Post-war service
He re-joined The Cunard Line in March 1947, serving in RMS Samaria, RMS Scythia, MV Britannic, MV Georgic and RMS Queen Elizabeth. In February 1954 he was appointed Staff Captain RMS Queen Mary, until he was given his first command of cargo/passenger liner RMS Media in May 1957, followed by the 22,017 ton liner RMS Sylvania, then the 22,592 ton RMS Saxonia in 1959 for the next 2.28 years.

From December 1962 he was Master of RMS Mauretania. Whilst his previous commands had been solely on the North Atlantic, the Mauretania was used for cruises. Even so, she was facing competition from much more modern ships and was beginning to lose money for Cunard Line.

In 1964 Texaco completed a new oil refinery in Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire, just 10 miles from where John Treasure Jones was born. Texaco chartered the Mauretania to take the guests from Southampton to Milford Haven and back. The opening ceremony was performed by Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, who travelled down on the Royal Train. Afterwards, the Captain hosted lunch on board for the Queen Mother and the other guests.

In the autumn of 1965 it was announced that Mauretania would be withdrawn from service and sold to Ward's shipbreaking yard in Inverkeithing, Fife in Scotland. On the night of 22/23 November he navigated the mud straits of the Forth without tugs, and made the final berthing through the shallows above the mud banks on the midnight high tide.

He was briefly the Master of RMS Queen Elizabeth and then RMS Queen Mary from December 1965.

In August 1966, under his command, she made the fastest eastbound passage since August 1938 in 4 days, 10 hours and 6 minutes, averaging 29.46 knots.

On 27 September, Queen Mary arrived back in Southampton having completed her 1,000th and last crossing of the North Atlantic, having carried 2,112,000 passengers over 3,792,227 miles (6,102,998 km).

On 31 October she sailed from Southampton for the last time with 1,093 passengers and 806 crew. For the first time in his long career, this was the Captain’s only voyage around Cape Horn. She arrived in Long Beach, California on 9 December 1967 and the Captain lowered both the Cunard house flag and his own Blue Ensign when he conducted the sale to the City of Long Beach on 11 December 1967.

Treasure Jones retired in August 1968, aged 63, after a career of 47 years, of which he served almost 43½ continuous years at sea.

He died on 12 May 1993, just three months short of his 88th birthday, at Chandlers Ford, outside Southampton.

Recognition
His decorations and medals were:
 * 1939–45 Star
 * Atlantic Star
 * Africa Star with Bar for North Africa 1942–43
 * 1939–45 War Medal with oak leaf for Mentioned in Dispatches (twice)
 * Coronation Medal and
 * Reserve Decoration with Bar.

In 1968 the University of Wales conferred on him an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Law.

In 1978 was granted the Freedom of Haverfordwest, his home town,.

On the Final Voyage of Queen Mary in 1967 he was awarded:
 * Honorary Member of the Panama Canal Pilots Association
 * Honorary Pilot of the Port of Long Beach
 * First Honorary Port Ambassador of the Port of Long Beach

BBC TV Archives
BBC WALES : MASTER AT SEA - 50 minute documentary filmed as sea aboard ‘’Mauretania’’  Date : June 1964

BBC WALES NEWS ARCHIVE CUT STORIES  Programme number: PEN9130K   Date: 10/11/1965   Catalogue number: 10476050 QUEEN MARY ARRIVES SOUTHAMPTON   Programme number: ANB6082R   Date: 11/04/1967   Catalogue number: 472694

BBC WALES NEWS ITEMS Programme number: PEN9154T      Date: 10/05/1967   Catalogue number: 10542213 QUEEN MARY LINER LEAVES NEW YORK FOR SOUTHAMPTON  Programme number: ANB6246F   Date: 22/09/1967   Catalogue number: 473791 QUEEN MARY LINER FINAL VOYAGE Programme number: ANB6246F   Date: 22/09/1967 Catalogue number: 473784 STORY OF THE QUEEN MARY  Programme number: LDC5951H   Date: 26/09/1967   Catalogue number: 9420702 QUEEN MARY: LAST VOYAGE ENDS AT SOUTHAMPTON  Programme number: ANB6251B      Date: 27/09/1967   Catalogue number: 473735 QUEEN MARY LINER FINAL HOMECOMING TO SOUTHAMPTON  Programme number: ANB6251B   Date: 27/09/1967   Catalogue number: 473725 TUESDAY DOCUMENTARY:SHIPS OF STATE  Programme number: LGF6506K   Date: 09/09/1975   Catalogue number: 1174602 THE GREAT LINERS:3  Programme number: NBSA750N   Date: 29/10/1979   Catalogue number: 1160034 BBC SOUTH TODAY  Programme number: B:RSRW042L   Date: 17/10/1983   Catalogue number:  11950 THE VISIT:THE GOLDEN VOYAGE  Programme number: NGWJ001K   Date: 26/11/1986   Catalogue number: 124891 BBC SOUTH TODAY  Programme number: D:RSRW750A   Date: 14/12/1988   Catalogue number: 269219

BBC SOUTH TODAY  Programme number: E:RSRW243J   Date: 26/09/1991   Catalogue number: 366162