Add Information to Record of a Person who served during the Second World War on The Wartime Memories Project Website
Add Information to Record of a Person who served during the Second World War on The Wartime Memories Project Website
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239635
Sgt. James Christopher "Gentle Jim " Jenkins
British Army King's Liverpool Regiment
from:Formby, Liverpool
My granddad James Jenkins was born in 1908 in Wales. He served in King's Regiment and was attached to either possibly an armoured or artillery unit at Dunkirk. Jimmy was heavily involved in rearguard actions at Dunkirk and finally got off the beach. The boat was sunk and he kept two other men afloat for 36 hours until they were rescued. Jimmy served in North Africa, Italy and on D-Day.
I have been hearing stories from an aunty (his youngest daughter) that he also did some special operations work sneaking onto German airfields and painting RAF roundels on the roofs so the Germans would bomb their own airfields.
He worked at Cammell Laird shipyards after the war. Before the war he was a professional footballer who played for Everton FC in the early 1930s and owned a boxing club in Liverpool. He was married with seven children and his wife's name was Elizabeth.
The MOD would not release his war record to my father (as of 2006, no reason given) so any information on him would be great.