Summary

Alternative Name(s): Memorial Scroll

Commemorative scroll and letter issued by King George V to commemorate the service and death of soldiers during World War I. This scroll was given to the wife of 2nd Lieutenant William Jenkin, 7th Battalion, AIF, who died in France on 19 June 1916, World War I.

William was born in Richmond to Nicholis John and Hetty Jenkin, and educated at Wesley College, where he was a Senior Cadet. He obtained a diploma in geology at the University of Melbourne, and then found a position as an articled surveyor for the Department of Lands & Survey. He married young, to Enid, and they lived at 'Gracedale', in Elizabeth Street, Malvern. William enlised in June 1915, at the age of 22. He was placed in the 7th Battalion. He attended Officers' Training School at the AIF camp in Broadmeadows, Melbourne, and in March successfully applied for a commission, becoming a lieutenant. On 1 April 1916 he was sent overseas on the 'Suffolk', disembarking at Suez on 12 May. Just over a week later he was shipped to Marseille, France, and by early July he was at the front lines, serving with the 1st Entrenching Battalion. He survived only a matter of weeks before being fatally wounded at Purbricks Sap on the Bapaume Road, on 19 August 1916. Corporal Dudley reported that he saw William 'blown up by his own bomb'.

William was buried where he fell, but the location of his body was later lost. A court of enquiry, held in June 1917, confirmed his death (he had initially been reported missing). He is commemorated at the Villers-Bretonneux Memorial, Picardie, France. After his death Enid moved to Sandringham and re-married, becoming Mrs Lording. Her husband was Ernest Lording, who she sent to collect William's memorial plaque on her behalf in 1923. They lived in Pascoe Vale. The scoll was donated by Enid.

Physical Description

The memorial scroll, on cream-coloured paper, is headed by a Royal Crest, partially coloured, with GV RI at the top and the slogan 'Dieu et mon Droit' at its base. The scroll reads: He whom this scroll commemorates was numbered among those who, at the call of King and Country, left all that was dear to them, endured hardness, faced danger, and finally passed out of the sight of men by the path of duty and self-sacrifice, giving up their own lives so that others might live in freedom. Let those who come after see to it that his name be not forgotten. Hand-written in red ink at the base of the document, is: Sec. Lt. William Jenkin 7 Bn. A.I.F.

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