John Gabriel Kenneth Jenkins – Merchant Navy, S.S. Glenmoor

Ordinary Seaman John Gabriel Kenneth Jenkins – Merchant Navy, S.S. Glenmoor

A Young Merchant Seaman Lost in the Second World War

Among the many young sailors who lost their lives during the Second World War while serving with the Merchant Navy was John Gabriel Kenneth Jenkins. Born in 1923 at Aberdare, John belonged to a generation whose early adulthood was shaped by global conflict, drawing thousands of young men into dangerous service at sea.

Merchant Navy Service

Merchant Seamen Deaths

John served as an Ordinary Seaman, one of the junior deck ratings whose duties supported the safe running and navigation of the ship. According to Merchant Seamen Deaths, he lost his life following the sinking of the S.S. Glenmoor on 27 November 1940, during the fierce early phase of the Battle of the Atlantic, when German U‑boats were inflicting heavy losses on British merchant shipping.

The S.S. Glenmoor

S.S. Glenmoor
credit - wrecksite

The S.S. Glenmoor was a British cargo steamer, built in 1928 by Doxford W. & Sons and owned by Runciman Walter & Co. On 27 November 1940, while on voyage from Cardiff to Alexandria carrying 7,410 tons of coal, the vessel was torpedoed and sunk without warning by the German submarine U‑103. The attack was devastating: 31 men lost their lives, and only 2 survived. The sinking of the Glenmoor stands as a stark reminder of the extreme dangers faced by Merchant Navy crews, who sailed unarmed or lightly defended through waters patrolled by U‑boats.

John Gabriel Kenneth Jenkins
Tower Hill Memorial
credit - Benjidog Histroical Research Resources.
The Merchant Navy Memorial

Commemoration

With no known grave but the sea, John Gabriel Kenneth Jenkins is commemorated on the Tower Hill Memorial, London, where his name is inscribed among those of thousands of Merchant Navy personnel who gave their lives to keep Britain supplied during the war. His sacrifice forms part of the wider story of courage, endurance, and loss that defined the Merchant Navy’s wartime service.