Francis Bertram Jenkins, always known as Bertram or Bert Jenkins, was born in Trowbridge, Wiltshire, on the 11th November 1883, the son of William Harry and Emily Jenkins, (née Rawlings). His father was a coppersmith and Bertram Jenkins started his working life in the cloth trade.
In 1907, he married Elaine Mary Nicol in Kensington, London, and the couple had two children, a daughter named Josephine, and a son who died in infancy and whose name is not known.
Bert Jenkins made regular trips to New York City, in the United States of America, in connection with his business, which was that of a woollen merchant, and by 1914, he had co-founded Cobb and Jenkins, with offices at 244. 5th Avenue, New York City.
In 1915, the Jenkins family lived at 14. Campden Hill Court, London.
On the 13th March 1915, Bert Jenkins arrived in New York City on board the S.S
Arabic, and for his return to England, he booked a saloon passage on what became the
Lusitania’s final voyage. Once he had boarded the liner on the morning of 1st May, he was allocated Room A30, which was under the personal supervision of First Class Bedroom Steward John Perry who came from Seaforth, Lancashire.
The liner’s sailing was then delayed until the afternoon as she had to embark passengers, crew and cargo from the Anchor Liner
Cameronia, which had been requisitioned by the British Admiralty for war service as a troop ship. The
Lusitania finally left port just after mid-day and just six days later, on the afternoon of 7th May; she was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine
U-20. At that point, she was off The Old Head of Kinsale in southern Ireland and only 250 miles hours away from her Liverpool home port and destination.
When the ship was struck, Bertram Jenkins was able to make good his escape before the ship sank and having been rescued from the sea and landed at Queenstown, he made his way to London, where he gave an interview to the press at Euston Station which described his experiences. This was later published in The New York Times of 10th May 1915 and stated: -
“It was outrageous that the Lusitania pushed ahead right into the path of danger", said Mr. Jenkins as he limped from the train at Euston, having been injured when a lifeboat crashed into the side of the steamer as it was lowered.
It seems to me the Cunard officials did not use judgement to protect the lives of passengers. The utmost confidence, even to the point of boasting, was assumed by the ship's officers on the entire run about the unlikelihood of the ship being torpedoed.
Some of the most prominent passengers went to Captain Turner three days before the Lusitania was sunk, told him there was considerable talk amongst the passengers about submarines, and asked if it was not advisable to have a boat drill, so the passengers would know how to escape if the ship was torpedoed. The captain coolly replied that he was not worried about the danger and that he would get the Lusitania into port safely.
“A torpedo can't get the Lusitania, said the captain. She runs too fast.”
The captain, however, said that he would speak to the first officer about a drill. I don't know if he did speak to the first officer, but I do know that there was no drill. This was commented on by the passengers as we neared the Irish coast on the very day that the Lusitania was torpedoed.
We all marvelled, too, that the Lusitania actually cut down her speed as she approached the coast. Every one knew that was the path of danger, and we fully expected the ship to be speeded to the utmost. Instead, she reduced her speed so much as to make the passengers talk of it. I spoke to one officer, and he replied that there was no chance of a submarine getting the Lusitania, and her speed didn't make any difference. That appeared to me to be a strange attitude to take.
We were also amazed over the fact that there was no convoy for the ship. The general opinion was that torpedo-boat destroyers would accompany us through the danger zone.
A few of us suspected shortly after noon that a submarine was after us when the ship gave a sudden turn. We looked for a submarine, but didn't see it. The Lusitania did not quicken her speed. I call the management of the Lusitania bad.
He also stated in an article published in The Yorkshire Post on 11th May 1915: -
I had the unpleasant experience of being in the water for five hours. I was wearing a lifebelt and was unable to get to a boat, but managed to keep afloat till a small vessel came to my aid.
He was also of the opinion that the crew behaved magnificently and did all they could.
According to Mr. Jenkins' great-niece, Jill Cozens of Hayes, Kent, in a letter written to Graham Maddocks in August 1996: -
My, mother's uncle was on the Lusitania when it sank, and although rescued, died later as a result. .... My mother believed he was a passenger on the vessel rather than one of the crew.
Bedroom Steward John Perry did not survive the sinking, however and his body was never found and identified afterwards.
In the years following his survival, Bert was spending more and more time in New York City, and eventually the family decided to emigrate to the United States of America, settling in the village of Brewster, New York State.
Bertram Jenkins continued to cross the Atlantic on business until 1922. His final voyage commenced on the 28th January 1922, when he boarded the
Aquitania in Southampton. A note on the passenger manifest for that voyage stated that on arrival in New York City on the 3rd February, he had been “in hospital”, but “discharged”. Whether he was confined in the ship’s hospital, or had been admitted to hospital on arrival at New York City is unclear, but on the 18th March 1922, he died in Brewster, New York, at the comparatively early age of 38 years. The cause of his death was recorded as pneumonia, which his family believed was as a direct result of his Lusitania ordeal. He was buried in St. Lawrence O’Toole Cemetery, Brewster, Putnam County, New York.
Register of Births, Marriages and Deaths, England & Wales Christening Records 1530 – 1906, New York Death Index 1852 – 1956, 1891 Census of England & Wales, 1901 Census of England & Wales, 1911 Census of England & Wales, New York Passenger Lists 1820 – 1957, Cunard Records, U.S. World War I Draft Registration Cards 1917 – 1918, New York Times, PRO 22/71, UniLiv D92/2/392, Graham Maddocks, Jill Cozens, Geoff Whitfield, Michael Poirier, Jim Kalafus, Cliff Barry, Paul Latimer, Norman Gray.
Copyright © Peter Kelly.