John "Inky" Jenkins
Royal Navy HMS Aurora
from:Tredegar
My dad. John Jenkins seved on HMS Aurora in the Second World War with the late actor Kenneth Moore. Sadly it took ages for him to tell me the stories and, on finding photographs, I found out that he was aboard the Aurora and met the King and Eisenhower. He told me of Kenneth and himself on watch when Mount Vesuvius erupted and Kenneth narrated the magnificent sight to the crew below deck. He was also there for Operation Torch. Sadly, I have found a picture of a service on the ship for the loss of 56 mates lost to German dive bombers.
Before joining the Navy he had two close friends - Pickles and Bert. Bert joined the Army, Pickles joined the Air Force. They all saw plenty of action, came home and all lived until 92. I wish I had questioned more and, sadly, it was only the last few years he would talk of his tales. The ironic part was he never mentioned the war but his brother Fred, who lived in Birmingham, and who suffered terrible injuries in Normandy (but also never shared his experiences) came to visit him, which was rare. He stood at the bottom of the bed and saluted him. My dad sat up in bed, saluted him back and within two weeks they both passed away peacefully last year.
