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I first met Jenks in September 1943 when I started at Belmont, a small prep school near Dorking and I certainly looked up to him. He was Captain of the School, Captain of Football and Captain of Cricket, quite some achievement as he could barely have been 12 years old. After Belmont he also had a distinguished career at Lancing, passing his Higher School Certificate and being made a House Captain. He was awarded school colours for football and was in the first XI in 1947 and 1948. He also had colours for cricket and was in the first XI in 1947, 48 and 49 when he was Captain. Jenks was a naturally gift sportsman. He was a fine opening batsman with a fast pair of hands as a wicket keeper but what was so remarkable was that he had no problem standing up to the quicker bowlers even though he was almost blind in one eye. After Lancing he joined IBM and continued playing football for the OLs and cricket for the both the Lancing Rovers and Chorleywood. He maintained his interest in sport long after his playing days were over. Jenks had a wonderful sense of humour and was a great joker but there was, of course, a more serious side to him. First and foremost, he was a devoted family man. Outside this and sport, his greatest interest was the First World War on which he was a great authority. His knowledge was encyclopaedic and there was hardly a book on the subject which he did not possess or had not read. He researched every OL who was killed, a mammoth task which took years to complete but the detailed information he obtained was quite amazing and he presented his research documents to the College. I always enjoyed watching Arthur Dunn and Cricketer Cup matches with Jenks. In later years we used to watch the MCC match at Lancing. To help us relax as we watched the cricket, Jenks always provided the Pimms!
David Debere (Sanderson’s 1949-1953)