A MEMORIAL mass is to be held for a former shipyard worker who died during the pandemic.

Allan Jones, a casualty of the pandemic, died on May 5, 2020, during the first wave of Covid.

And now his family are finally getting the chance to properly reflect on his passing in a ceremony at 11.00am on Friday, July 1, at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Ulverston.

His wife Pat Jones said: "He was a damn fine husband, he deserves more than ten minutes in a crematorium.

"It is only what we would have done had he died in normal circumstances."

Covid rules meant that funerals throughout the country were limited in number and socially distanced. His own son Chris could not attend his funeral due to isolation rules.

Mr Jones was born July 21, 1935,  the ninth child of Maggie and George Jones.

He was schooled at St. Mary’s and the technical college before going on to get an apprenticeship for Vickers Shipyard as a sheet metal worker.

He was conscripted into the Royal Electrical & Mechanical Engineers and to his dismay, drafted into the Military Police due to his tall stature.

He married Pat Jones in St. Mary’s Church, Duke Street, Barrow, on September 15, 1956 before he was posted to Honiton, Devon. He travelled all over Britain, including working in Kensington for a time.

After 14 months of marriage Mrs Jones gave birth to Christopher, eight weeks premature.

She described her shock at the event but said that God had been good; Chris prospered and is now drawing a pension.

Chris was followed by Beverley, a nurse who is now working towards retirement. 

She, in turn, gave birth to Paddy, a dentist who is also planning retirement.

But it was her fourth child who caused the most trouble. Now retired police officer Maggie was unwilling to wait for the midwife to arrive, leaving the other children astonished outside the bedroom door.

"How did that get there?" They questioned. "The nurse is supposed to bring babies."

The only explanation was that their father had added a new string to his bow and turned midwife for the occasion.

The family then moved to Burnley where Mr Jones worked for Lucas, an aerospace manufacturer.

They stayed in the area after finding two single-sex Catholic schools for their children - St. Hilda’s girls school and St. Theodores’ school  (St.Teds) for boys.  

After the children finished their schooling and were settled in their careers, Mr and Mrs Jones were free to move but Burnley did not feel like home so came back to Furness.