John Jenkins – Mercantile Marine - S.S. Gibel Hamam
Fireman and Trimmer John Jenkins – Mercantile Marine, S.S. Gibel Hamam
Early Life and Family
John Jenkins was born in 1868, in Machen,
Monmouthshire, the son of John and Mary Jenkins. Very little
is known about his early years, but like many from South Wales during the late
Victorian era, his family’s life would have been shaped by the region’s
industrial and maritime heritage.
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| 1911 Census |
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| John Jenkins and Mary Jane Thomas marriage certificate St. Mary's church |
In May 1900, John, who was widowed at the time,
remarried at St. Mary’s Church, Swansea, to Mary Jane Thomas. By
the 1911 Census, the couple were living at 28 Rodney Street,
Swansea. John, aged 43, was employed as a Bootmaker’s Runner,
while Mary, born in Llanelli, was 29 years old. They had
two young children, Florence V. (6) and Cyril George (4), both
attending school.
Service and Loss
During the First World War, John Jenkins
joined the Mercantile Marine, serving as a Fireman and Trimmer
aboard the S.S. Gibel Hamam, a British merchant steamer engaged
in coastal and cross-Channel trade.
As a Fireman and Trimmer, John worked deep in the ship’s
stokehold — an exhausting and perilous position, responsible for maintaining
the ship’s boilers and feeding the furnaces that powered the vessel. These men
endured intense heat, soot, and fatigue to keep the ship moving, often under
constant threat from enemy submarines.
On 14th September 1918, while on a voyage
from Swansea to France carrying a cargo of coal, the Gibel
Hamam was torpedoed without warning by a German submarine.
The ship sank rapidly, and John Jenkins was among the 21 crew members
who lost their lives.
The S.S. Gibel Hamam
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| S.S. Gibel Hamam |
On 14th September 1918, the Gibel Hamam
was torpedoed and sunk approximately 15 nautical miles south of
Portland Bill, Dorset, most likely by the German submarine SM UB-103,
which was operating in the English Channel at the time.
The attack was swift and devastating, typical of the unrestricted
submarine warfare being waged by Germany against Allied shipping. The Gibel
Hamam went down quickly, taking most of her crew with her.
Today, the wreck of the Gibel Hamam lies in 30–36
metres of water off the Dorset coast. Divers report that the bow section
remains upright, while the stern has collapsed to starboard. The engine
room is partially intact, and remnants of the ship’s machinery and coal
cargo remain visible — a lasting underwater memorial to those lost with her.
The German Submarine SM UB-103
The SM UB-103 was a Type UB III submarine
of the Imperial German Navy, built by Blohm & Voss in Hamburg.
She was launched on 7 July 1917 and commissioned on 18 December 1917.
UB-103 displaced 510 tons surfaced and 629
tons submerged, could achieve speeds of 13.3 knots on the surface
and 7.4 knots underwater, and carried a crew of up to 34 men.
Armed with five torpedo tubes and an 8.8 cm deck gun, she was
designed for offensive patrols in coastal and Channel waters.
During her short operational career, UB-103 was
credited with sinking 15 merchant vessels, totalling nearly 26,000
tons of Allied shipping. Her victims included several British coal and
cargo ships — among them the S.S. Gibel Hamam.
Her own fate came just weeks later: on 14th August
1918, UB-103 was mined off the Flanders coast while returning
from patrol and was lost with all hands.
The submarine’s brief but deadly service reflects the
escalating submarine threat faced by the Mercantile Marine during the
closing months of the war, when even coastal routes — once considered safe —
became deadly.
Commemoration
S.S. Gibel Hamam
Tower Hill Memorial, London
credit - Benjidog Historical Research Resources:
The Merchant Navy MemorialS.S. Gibel Hamam
Tower Hill Memorial, London
credit - Benjidog Historical Research Resources:
The Merchant Navy Memorial
Fireman and Trimmer John Jenkins is commemorated
on the Tower Hill Memorial, London — the national monument dedicated to the
men and women of the Merchant Navy and Fishing Fleets who have no
known grave but the sea.
Legacy
Though little survives of his personal story, John
Jenkins’s life mirrors that of thousands of merchant seamen who faced
hardship and danger in service of their country. From his modest home on Rodney
Street to his final resting place beneath the Channel, his courage and
endurance embody the spirit of Swansea’s maritime community.
His name, engraved upon the Tower Hill Memorial,
stands as a lasting tribute to those who gave their lives in the Mercantile
Marine, ensuring that Britain’s ships continued to sail in its darkest
hour.
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