John Jones, (1854–1913) known as ''Coch Bach y Bala'' was a Welsh criminal. His nickname, Coch Bach y Bala, literally translates as 'Little Redhead of Bala'. He is also known as the Welsh Houdini for having escaped on more than one occasion from

Ruthin Gaol Ruthin Gaol ( cy, Carchar Rhuthun) is a HM Prison Pentonville, Pentonville style prison in Ruthin, Denbighshire. Ruthin Gaol ceased to be a prison in 1916 when the prisoners and guards were transferred to Shrewsbury Prison, Shrewsbury. The Co ...

. A habitual criminal, Jones spent over half his life in prison from which he made repeated attempts (some successful) to escape. His first successful escape was in 1879 when he escaped from Ruthin Gaol while on remand for stealing some watches. By some method he opened the door of his cell and walked out of the front door of the gaol while the staff were having their evening meal. He was recaptured three month later near

Colwyn Bay Colwyn Bay ( cy, Bae Colwyn) is a town, community and seaside resort in Conwy County Borough on the north coast of Wales overlooking the Irish Sea. It lies within the historic county of Denbighshire. Eight neighbouring communities are incorpo ...

In 1900 he attempted to escape from

Caernarfon Gaol Caernarfon (; ) is a royal town, community and port in Gwynedd, Wales, with a population of 9,852 (with Caeathro). It lies along the A487 road, on the eastern shore of the Menai Strait, opposite the Isle of Anglesey. The city of Bangor is t ...

while awaiting transfer to

Dartmoor prison HM Prison Dartmoor is a Category C men's prison, located in Princetown, high on Dartmoor in the English county of Devon. Its high granite walls dominate this area of the moor. The prison is owned by the Duchy of Cornwall, and is operated by ...

. Barricading himself in his cell he began to tunnel out but was unsuccessful. Following two lengthy sentences in Dartmoor for

burglary Burglary, also called breaking and entering and sometimes housebreaking, is the act of entering a building or other areas without permission, with the intention of committing a criminal offence. Usually that offence is theft, robbery or murder ...

, Jones returned to North Wales and within months on his release was convicted of yet another burglary. Held in Ruthin Gaol while awaiting transfer, this time to

Stafford Gaol HM Prison Stafford is a Category C men's prison, located in Stafford, Staffordshire, England. The prison is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service. In 2014 it became a sex offender-only jail. History His Majesty's Prison at Stafford was orig ...

, he tunnelled through the cell wall and climbed over the prison walls using a rope made from bedclothes. Six days later while being tracked on land near

Llanelidan Llanelidan is a small village and community (Wales), community in the county of Denbighshire in north-east Wales. The community also includes the hamlet of Rhyd-y-Meudwy. The church, village hall and pub all lie within 200 yards of each other ...

he was shot in the leg by Reginald Jones-Bateman and bled to death from the wound. He was buried in the graveyard of St Elidan's Church in

Denbighshire Denbighshire ( ; cy, Sir Ddinbych; ) is a county in the north-east of Wales. Its borders differ from the historic county of the same name. This part of Wales contains the country's oldest known evidence of habitation – Pontnewydd (Bontnewy ...

. Because of his exploits in escaping he was held in some regard by the local population and his funeral was well attended. His escapades were well reported in the press; describing his last escape the local paper wrote:

References

Llanelidan British escapees 20th-century Welsh criminals 19th-century Welsh criminals 1854 births 1913 deaths {{Wales-bio-stub