Arthur Emlyn Jenkins – Machine Gun Corps, 20th Company

Lieutenant Arthur Emlyn Jenkins – Machine Gun Corps, 20^th Company

Birth and Family Background

Arthur Emlyn Jenkins was born in 1889 at Bridgend, the son of Rees Jenkins and Margaret Jenkins.

1891 Census

At the time of the 1891 Census, the Jenkins family were living at Higher Tythegston, Cefn Cribwr, Bridgend. Rees Jenkins (30) was employed as an assurance agent, and his Carmarthenshire-born wife Margaret (28) managed the household. Their children were Arthur Emlyn (2) and John Morgan (1). Also present were a servant, Elizabeth Davies (26), and a cousin, John William (19).

1901 Census

By the 1901 Census, the family had moved to Swansea, residing at 80 Upper Major Street. Rees Jenkins (40) was still recorded as an assurance agent, and his children were Arthur E. (12) and Tudor M. (6). A cousin, Mary Davies (32), was present in the household as housekeeper.

1911 Census

At the time of the 1911 Census, the family were living at 83 Manor Road, Manselton, Swansea. Rhys Jenkins (40) was employed as a company secretary (joint stock). His children were Arthur Emlyn (22), working as a school teacher, and Tudor Mergan (16), a student. Also present was a housekeeper, Ann Evans (40).

Marriage

In 1915, Arthur Emlyn Jenkins married Amelia J. Parton.

Military Service

Arthur was commissioned as a Lieutenant with the Machine Gun Corps, serving with the 20^th Company. The Machine Gun Corps played a crucial role on the Western Front, providing sustained and concentrated firepower in support of infantry operations, often from exposed forward positions.

Machine Gun Corps, 20^th Company — 4^th December 1916

On 4^th December 1916, the 20^th Company was serving on the Somme front in the Mailly-Maillet sector, an area that remained dangerous even after the main Somme offensives had ended. Although large-scale attacks had ceased, the fighting had settled into a grim phase of attritional trench warfare, with daily casualties continuing from shellfire, sniping, and trench mortar attacks.

Machine Gun Corps companies were employed as brigade-level assets, with sections deployed in front-line and support trenches to provide defensive barrages, enfilade fire, and protective fire against enemy movement. These machine-gun positions were considered high-value targets and were frequently subjected to German counter-battery fire and trench mortars.

Conditions in early December 1916 were particularly harsh. Cold, wet winter weather, deep mud, and flooded trenches made movement difficult and increased the danger of routine duties. Officers such as Lieutenant Jenkins were responsible for siting gun positions, supervising crews, and coordinating fire, often under direct enemy observation. Casualties frequently occurred during tasks such as relieving gun teams, improving emplacements, or bringing ammunition forward, rather than during major assaults.

It was during these hazardous conditions on 4^th December 1916 that Arthur Emlyn Jenkins was killed in action, reflecting the constant danger faced by Machine Gun Corps officers even during periods without major attacks.

Death and Burial

Arthur Emlyn Jenkins
Mailly Wood Cemetery, Mailly-Maillet,
Somme, France
credit - findagrave

Lieutenant Jenkins is buried at Mailly Wood Cemetery, Mailly-Maillet, Somme, France.

Arthur Emlyn Jenkins’ death illustrates the heavy losses suffered by the Machine Gun Corps on the Somme, where static warfare, exposed positions, and relentless enemy fire made service among the most dangerous on the Western Front