The story of RE Jones Ltd
\\\ updated 2023
The RE Jones family history was explored, with eight generations living and working in South Wales, mainly Swansea, Cardiff, and Porthcawl, with business interests in London, dating back to the late 18th century and five generations residing in Sussex, UK (Hove, Brighton, Worthing, Hastings).
The website extends from the 1780s, when the Evans family and Williams, ran a public inn at Maesteg, South Wales, during the early 1820s, that still remains as a business today.
This was the forerunner of one of the UK’s leading catering and hospitality businesses, the RE Jones catering business established by Richard Edwin Jones and his wife, Elizabeth Williams, and their four sons.
The name ‘Elwy Jones’ which was relatively new, was introduced by RE Jones when he christened his fourth son, Walter Elwy Jones, in 1886, that later became hyphenated.
Generations later we were always told that Richard Edwin had established a substantial catering and hospitality, a family business for more than ninety years, where research provides us with information that it was considerably larger than thought, groundbreaking for the period, quite diverse but in today’s modern business language, an exciting hospitality company.
Fascinated as not only did it employ our family, but thousands of people across Wales, and central London. Starting to delve deeper, we put together the archives of the RE Jones business as well as the genealogy links to the ‘Elwy Jones’ family.
Pre-1900 the business commenced trading in Cardiff, later based in Swansea and across South Wales, with various catering and hospitality outlets including managing selected Great Western Railway hotels catering outlets, cafe taverns, wine merchants, bakeries, lodging residences, B&B, leasing and managing hotels, and selective freehold hotels.
Post-1900 R E Jones Ltd became a public company listed on the London Stock Exchange. All four sons were employees and subsequently became directors and shareholders, with a strictly ‘hands-on’ approach in active roles.
They funded business opportunities, such as early aeronautical businesses including the Morgan Co., building many of the Vickers Vimy for the RAF, funded the design, building, and management of prestigious hotels in Wales and London, early take-up of commercial motor vehicles and garage franchises, taxi services, as well as developing and managing famous London nightclubs, cafes, restaurants, and bakeries all of which was quietly building an enormous hospitality portfolio.
We traced the business since 1870, with astonishing finds and still adding more content.
There are three pages about RE Jones, the first tracking his parentage,
the second during his life, following his business interests, and the third page after his death, 1923, until RE Jones Ltd was sold, in 1963.
We’ve continued with Richard’s fourth son, Walter who was an Army commissioned officer and then director of RE Jones Ltd, and Walter Elwy-Jones, his grandchild, was a long-serving RAF commissioned officer.
How to use our site
The Home page MENU provides a selection of pages including
- About the website
- The home page provides a selection of various posts about the RE Jones business.
- 3 pages about RE Jones his family and business interests. 1800-1853. 1853-1923. 1923-1961.
- Lt Col W Elwy Jones
- Group Captain W N Elwy Jones
- The Elcock family.
- The Dowdeswell family.
Additionally, for easy reference, there are pages supporting the –
- Summary of the family’s mentioned ‘Family Lives.’
- Summary of important towns and cities where RE Jones businesses were located.
- Archive credits.
Situated at the bottom of posts and pages.
Copyright
You may download a copy of the information for personal use. Please contact us should you require to use any information for business purposes by using the ‘Leave A Reply’ facility at the bottom of the page. Copyright since © 2012
If you have any information or memories that you wish to share or can help us with further business archives, then please contact us using the ‘Leave a reply’ message below.
Spotted any broken links? Please message us.
Copyright since © 2012
Elwy-Jones 
Hi, I’m fascinated by the story of the Piccadilly Hotel. In fact I am working on a project for the current incarnation of the hotel, Le Meridien Piccadilly. Would you be willing to allow us to use some of your images?
Please contact us elwyjones@gmail.com
I am the great grandson of Roland Arthur Reginald Field .If you have any further information regarding his life and role in R.E.Jones I would be very interested in receiving it .
Many thanks