'It’s not something I want to be defined by'

John (Cliff) Jones, 51, was a proud father-of-four as well as being a skilled gardener who had been born and bred in Birmingham.

He worked for the post office as a station postman at Birmingham New Street but when he wasn't at work he was down on his allotment.

Cliff was a member of the Birmingham District Allotment Council and liked to grow onions and "cabbages that could feed you for a week", according to his son George.

The family lived in Handsworth, Cliff and his wife Gladys as well as their children, son George and his three sisters Jacqueline, Sandra and Pauline.

Cliff was a sociable but quiet man who was always good company to his friends and a fountain of local knowledge.

George, who now lives in Sutton Coldfield, says his dad always took an interest in all of his children and what they were doing.

He would always be there at sporting matches and would even swap shifts so he could attend the football matches his son was playing at school.

"He was the sort of guy that would let people know what we'd achieved and was very proud of that."

Cliff worked a lot and put in a lot of extra shifts to support his family and have nice holidays to places like Wales and the Isle of Wight.

George remembers going rock pooling with him, saying he wasn't the sort of person to sit around and he always took a keen interest in his surroundings.

"When they built the Queensway tunnel he would go and see what progress was going on and that type of thing."

George was 26 and married to his first wife at the time the explosion happened in November 1974.

He had been with his parents the night before (20th) for a family meal as they had relatives over from Canada and had gone to the local pub.

George was driving that night so he left early but remembers saying to his Dad “Are you back at work tomorrow? He said yeah, I said what are you on? He said I’m on afternoons, I said ‘right ho’". That was it.

The night Cliff was killed he was with a group of friends in the Mulberry Bush including Stan Bodman, John Rowlands, Michael Beasley, James Caddick and Trevor Thrupp.

George said he knew "there was a big chance" his father would be in the pub, in the exact same spot he always stood in the pub.

John Jones was easily identified because he was wearing his post office uniform with his employee number on his badge.

After it happened, the family pulled together to support each other.

However, George said it wasn’t something he wanted to talk about with others because he didn't want to be defined by it in the years that past.

“People have been really shocked, you never told us that your dad was one of the 21 killed, it’s not the sort of thing you bring up in conversation.

Whatever they keep private from the public, George says his family have always talked about his father and he will never be forgotten.