THOSE REMEMBERED ON THE FALFIELD WAR MEMORIAL WHO DIED DURING THE 1914-18 WAR

JOHN BANKS JENKINSON

Date Born

9th June 1881 (Baptised 24th July 1881 in St George’s Church, Falfield)

Birth place:

Cadogan Square, London.

Date of Death:

Monday 14th September 1914

Fate:

He was killed in action as they advanced from the Marne to the slopes above the Aisne.

Go to “War Diary of the 1st South Wales Borderers” web site to read the war diary of one of the officers of the Battalion. It makes for very sobering yet inspiring reading.

Duty Location:

France and Flanders

Buried:

Vendresse British Cemetery. Plot Ref: I.C.17

Location Information

Vendresse-Beaulne is a village in the Department of the Aisne 16 kilometres south of Laon. Vendresse British Cemetery is 800 metres north of the village on the west side of the road to Laon.

Historical Information

The neighbourhood of Vendresse-et-Troyon was the scene of repeated and severe fighting in which British troops took part in 1914 and 1918.

Vendresse British Cemetery was made after the Armistice by the concentration of graves from other cemeteries and from the battlefields.

The following were among the burial grounds from which graves were moved to this cemetery:-

BEAURIEUX FRENCH MILITARY CEMETERY, where 16 British soldiers were buried by the Germans in May-July 1918.

BOURG-ET-COMIN FRENCH MILITARY CEMETERIES “A” and “B (Madagascar)”, where two British soldiers were buried, one in 1914 and one in 1918.

CALIFORNE FRENCH MILITARY CEMETERY, CRAONNE, where one British soldier was buried by the enemy in May 1918.

CERNY-EN-LAONNOIS FRENCH NATIONAL and GERMAN CEMETERIES, both great permanent burial grounds; 59 British soldiers were buried in the German in 1914, and nine in the French in 1914 and 1918.

CHAMOUILLE GERMAN CEMETERY, where 16 British soldiers were buried in 1914.

CHIVY-LES-ETOUVELLES GERMAN CEMETERIES, four in number, containing graves of 13 British soldiers who fell in 1914.

MORIEULOIS GERMAN CEMETERY, CREPY-EN-LAONNOIS, where seven British soldiers were buried in July and August 1918.

MOUSSY-SUR-AISNE CHURCHYARD, where 14 British soldiers were buried in September 1914.

OEUILLY CHURCHYARD, AISNE, which contained four British graves of 1914.

TROYON CHURCHYARD, AISNE, which contained 50 British graves of 1914.

VERNEUIL CHATEAU MILITARY CEMETERY, where 46 British soldiers were buried in 1914 from the Dressing Station in the Chateau. In October 1915, the French 57th Infantry Regiment erected a stone memorial (now removed to Vendresse) to their British comrades.

VERNEUIL CHURCHYARD, MARNE, where one British soldier was buried in October 1914.

There are now over 700, 1914-18 war casualties commemorated in this site. Of these, over half are unidentified and almost all of whom fell in 1914 or 1918. Special memorials are erected to three soldiers, known or believed to be buried here in unnamed graves; and other special memorials record the names of 50 United Kingdom soldiers buried in other cemeteries whose graves were destroyed by shell fire. In 37 instances, graves identified collectively but not individually are marked by headstones superscribed: “Buried near this spot”.

The British Cemetery covers an area of 2,188 square metres and is enclosed (except on the roadside) by a low stone rubble wall.

Regiment:

Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consorts Own)
3rd Brigade of The 1st Battalion, the South Wales Borderers

Rank:

Captain

Service No:

Not Known

Military Information:

1st Battalion
04.08.1914 Stationed at Colchester as part of the 11th Brigade of the 4th Division.
18.08.1914 Moved to Harrow School.
23.08.1914 Mobilised for war and landed at Havre and the engaged in various action on the Western Front including;
During 1914
The Battle of Le Cateau, The Battle of the Marne, The Battle of the Aisne, The Attack on Ploegsteert Wood.
Dec 1914 This Battalion took part in the Christmas Truce of 1914.
During 1915
The Second Battle of Ypres.
During 1916
The German gas attack at Ypres, the Battle of Le Transloy.
During 1917
The Battle of Arras, The Battle of Broodseinde, The Battle of Poelcapelle.
During 1918
Battle of the Somme, Battle of Lyes, German withdrawal at Hinges, The Battle of Drocourt-Queant, Battles of the Hindenburg Line.
11.11.1918 Ended the war in France, Haspres N.W. of Solesmes..

Medals Awarded

The 1914/15 star campaign medal of the British Empire for his service in World War One.

Given the information available, John Banks Jenkinson was was awarded the 1914 star campaign medal of the British Empire for his service in World War One. A narrow horizontal bronze clasp sewn onto the ribbon, bearing the dates ‘5th AUG. – 22nd NOV. 1914′ shows that the recipient had actually served under fire of the enemy during that period. For every seven medals issued without a clasp there were approximately five issued with the clasp. Recipients who received the medal with the clasp were also entitled to attach a small silver heraldic rose to the ribbon when just the ribbon was being worn.

Eligibility for the Victory Medal consisted of having been mobilised, fighting, having served in any of the theatres of operations, or at sea, between midnight 4th/5th August, 1914, and midnight, 11th/12th November, 1918. Women who served in any of the various military organisations in a theatre of operations were also eligible.

The British War Medal is a campaign medal of the United Kingdom which was awarded to officers and men of British and Imperial forces for service in the 1st World War. Two versions of the medal were produced. About 6.5 million were struck in silver and 110,000 in bronze, the latter awarded to, among others, the Chinese, Maltese and Indian Labour Corps

The 1914/15 Star, the Victory Medal and the British War Medal were sometimes irreverently referred to as Pip, Squeak and Wilfred. With Pip representing either the 1914/15 Star or the 1914 Star, only one of which could be awarded to a soldier, Squeak represented the British War Medal and Wilfred represented the Victory Medal.

MEMORIAL PLAQUE

The Next of Kin Memorial Plaque is a bronze plaque approximately 11 cms or 4½ inches diameter with the name of someone who died serving with the British and Empire forces in the First World War. This was issued to the Next of Kin of the casualty along with a scroll. They were posted out separately, typically in 1919 and 1920, and a ‘King’s message’ was enclosed with both, containing a facsimile signature of the King.
The immediate next of kin of all who died serving with the British and Empire forces in the First World War were eligible to receive the plaque and scroll. With nearly a million dead for the British Army alone, the plaques are today still commonly found; the fragile scrolls survive less often. Some of those recorded by plaques and scrolls were not eligible for service medals, for instance, those who did not serve overseas but who died in service through accident or illness.

Parents:

Eldest son of Sir George Banks Jenkinson, 12th Bart.; husband of Joan Jenkinson (later as Mrs. Langhorne)

Other Information:

John joined the Rifle Brigade at Sandhurst in 1899. He served in the Boer War with the Mounted Infantry, and he obtained the Queen’s medal with five clasps. John became Captain in 1908 and General Staff Officer, Eastern Command by 1912 and Brigade Major 3rd Infantry Brigade in 1913. He went to France, as Brigade-Major, in August 1914. He was involved in the Retreat from Mons, and the Battle of the Aisne, at which he was killed on 14th September 1914. His last words were said to be ” Fight on.”

Please note: On the Commonwealth War Graves Commission web site the date of death is recorded as 14th September 1914 but the following web site (The Long, Long,Trail – The Battle of the Aisne) it refers to his death as Wednesday 16th September 1914

Credits: St George’s Church Baptism and Burial Records, Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Ancestry website, forces-war-records.co.uk , scribes-alcove

If anyone believes that any of the information above is incorrect or has information to add to John Banks Jenkinson then please email [email protected]

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This page was last updated on: Jan 28, 2022 @ 7:42 PM

The production and updating of information on this page is compiled on a voluntary basis. If you should find any errors or omissions please contact us by using the contact page