A long term resident of Harlaxton - Bob Langham -  remembers Reg Jones as being a very interesting and special man and he used to visit Reg in his latter years who told Bob of his escapades in the 2nd World War as follows:

When war broke out, Reg was one of twelve gardeners at the Manor. He enrolled in the army as his father before him in WW1 and joined the Ox and  Bucks Regiment  (unclear if Light Infantry or Fusiliers at time of writing) and fought throughout the duration of the war. He was part of the BEF that was evacuated from Dunkirk. He was one of the last to leave and had to swim out to the boats from the shore to stand any chance of survival. During the swim he had to force a man who couldn't swim off him as he would have drowned them both and this left a huge feeling of guilt which stayed with him. Reg managed to get to a boat but couldn't board it as it was moving away but he managed to grab a trailing rope from the ship which had a lorry tyre attached to it. Reg managed to haul himself on to the tyre and crossed the Channel in the tyre to safety. Reg was fortunate that he learnt to swim in the Manor fishponds which apparently like all young men in the village did at that time. He also took part in the the D Day landings at Normandy as a tank driver and drove one of the few tanks who made it safely to shore without sinking underwater. Reg took part in the liberation of Belsen concentration camp and was part of the occupying force in Germany post war. When Reg was demobbed, he returned to the Harlaxton Manor and was the only member of the original twelve gardeners to have survived the war. A charmed life indeed.