The strange, sad story of Tommy Jones

My late grandfather told me this story when I was a little girl, it freaked me out then and it still does now... Especially as it happened just up the road from me. It's a strange, very sad story that I think deserves to be told here...

In August 1900, 5 year old Tommy Jones went missing whilst walking with his father to the grandparent's house just outside the village of Brecon. Tommy's father stopped off at a public house and Tommy was supposed to continue to the farmhouse, just 250 metres away. Tommy never made it....

29 days later, his body was found below the ridge of Pen-y-Fan, the highest mountain in South Wales . It was a climb of 1300ft from the public house where he was last seen by his father.....

The inquest recorded a verdict of death through exhaustion and exposure. But no-one could explain how this little 5 year old managed to reach the spot where his body was found. The general consensus is that he must have took a wrong turn and got lost in the dark....

Today, an obelisk marks the spot where Tommy's body was found.





Full story at www.breconbeacons.org...

Another good link breconbeacons.wordpress.com...

I regularly hike these mountains and the climb to Pen-y-Fan is pretty strenuous... I have never been able to fathom how little 5 year old Tommy made it that far, alone, in the dark... No doubt tired and hungry after a long journey that day from his home in the Rhondda and after the 4 mile walk from Brecon...

It always sends shivers down my spine...

reply to post by paradisepurple


i have seen a similar place while walking in the hills...
it was a small statue depicting a child, under a waterfall where she drowned..
sad places them are,,, may them all rest in peace.

reply to post by paradisepurple


That's interesting and sad indeed. I'm gonna read more about it because it interests me.
Thank you for sharing.

I sure would love to visit where you live. I'm across the sea in the states.

And I love your name, purple is my favorite color
Hope you are having a lovely evening.

-nat

Edit-- I just read one of the stories about this small boy. And wow, that's just so wild how high up he ended. And so very interesting that a lady had a dream about his whereabouts.

reply to post by solve


That's so sad I'm glad these memorials exist so people can pay their respects...

reply to post

by natalia


Thanks Nat Cat

I'm glad it interests you, I was hoping others would find it as fascinating as I always have, it's such a mystery to me...

I know, it's crazy the lady who dreamt where Tommy was found, they never thought it was even worth searching that high up the mountain.... I would love to find out what really happened to him...

It's a beautiful, wild place and I do feel lucky to live here

I hope you have a lovely evening too!

reply to post by paradisepurple


To be absolutely accurate, tallest mountain in South Wales it may be, but the most strenuous thing about Pen-y-fan is thinking " I know, I will use the toilets before I hike up it" and getting the bottom of your lungs gouged out by whatever reeking crap they use to clean the public lavatory there.

The actual hike is quite literally a walk in the park. Unless you have clubbed feet and a heart condition, its not really much of anything.

Deciding that your dad is a wuss for taking the walking path, and doing Snowdon, in a straight line from bottom to top, defeating thirty foot verticals on your first time on a mountain, with no ropes or climbing gear, in a T-shirt and shorts with a pack full of corned beef sarnies and a thermos of tea... now thats a work out, and the most fun I ever had with clothes on and with no psychotropic assistance.

reply to post by TrueBrit


You've only ever taken the tourist path from the Storey Arms I take it? I prefer the un-trodden route from the Neuadd Reservoir south of the peaks... You get the mountain all to yourself, until you get to the top at least...

It's hard going and I certainly don't have club feet or a dodgy ticker

You may think it's an easy hike... For a tired, lost 5 year old in the dark, most definitely not....

Your trip to Snowdon sounded fun though! Maybe you should have taken the easy option and got the train up

reply to post by paradisepurple


I wouldnt have traded that day on Snowdon for anything, not money, not glory, and not even ROCK MEGASTARDOM, and certainly not a trip on a funicular railway.

Even years later, thats still the most rewarding thing I ever did. I remember having a break half way up, with my back wedged against one side of a crevice, and my feet against the other, eating sandwhiches and drinking tea, and thinking that it would be nice never to have to come down off the mountain. I felt properly at home there.

reply to post by TrueBrit


I can imagine, it's quite an achievement! Me, I've only ever taken the train up to Snowdon

Yeah, I only feel completely at home when I'm up in the mountains, I know exactly what you mean... I would have made a great sheep

My mention of the Neuadd Reservoir at the foot of Pen-y-Fan reminded me of something creepy which my father told me happened to him there years ago, I have to go out now, I will update later.

I remembered something earlier that my father experienced at the Neuadd Reservoir, which sits at the south base of Pen-y-Fan, about 15 years ago.

He's very experienced fly fisherman and was night fishing at the reservoir. He heard a noise which came from the other side of the lake. He said it was unlike any noise he has ever heard before. My father learnt to fish from a very young age and having fished all over the place for so many years, rivers and lakes, he is completely accustomed to the various noises of different species of animals, day and night. There was no-one else up there at the time, no campers or other fishermen. My father would never admit to being scared but I could tell this had unnerved him. Not quite enough to give up on the fish and leave mind, he stuck it out the night

I text him earlier for a specific description of the noise, it's been so long since we last talked about it and he responded ''a very loud howl. Like a cat only deeper. Not a bark like a fox or dog''.....

There are most definitely large non-native cats all over the UK, no conspiracy there, big cats were popular pets for the wealthy back in the 1960's and 70's. But in 1976 the Dangerous Animals Act made keeping them illegal, unless a very expensive licence was purchased, meaning some owners dumped their cats in the wild. But what about back in 1900? I suppose it's possible some may have escaped from travelling circuses, which were so popular back then...

So, was a large cat possibly responsible for the death of Tommy Jones? It would certainly be typical behaviour for them to drag their prey away to higher ground...

I'm also reminded of this thread ''The Welsh Werewolf'' by Trackhunter www.abovetopsecret.com... in particular boymonkey's post 2nd down from the OP in which he saw something which may have resembled a werewolf in the Black Mountains, which are only around 10 miles north-east of Pen-y-Fan.

I was hoping others would jump into this thread with some theories about what may have happened to Tommy Jones, over the years I've wondered if aliens or spirits may have led him up to the peak of Pen-y-Fan.... It's only today I was thinking about what my father's experience and connected Tommy's death with the possible involvement of a large cat.... Or a werewolf even.

I've spent a lot of time around these mountains and have never experienced anything odd, scary or even remotely out of the ordinary. But there's something about the incident involving Tommy Jones that just gets to me and makes me question it.... It has done for over 30 years now...

Whatever happened to him, I hope little Tommy rests in peace