Albert Mortimer Jenkin (14 September 1872 – 3 July 1961) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

-born

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

forward who played club rugby for

Swansea Swansea ( ; ) is a coastal City status in the United Kingdom, city and the List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, second-largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of ...

, county rugby for Glamorgan and international rugby for

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

Personal life

Jenkin was born in

Ibsley Ibsley is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Ellingham, Harbridge and Ibsley, in the New Forest district, in Hampshire, England. It is about 2.5 miles (4 km) north of the town of Ringwood. In 1931 the parish had a popu ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

in 1872 to the Rev. Albert Jenkin and Elizabeth Seager. Jenkin was educated at

Llandovery College Llandovery College () is a coeducational independent boarding and day school in Llandovery, Carmarthenshire, Wales. The college consists of Gollop Preparatory, Senior School and Sixth Form. It was previously known as "Welsh College, Llandovery" ...

Ospreys player profiles
/ref> before gaining entry to

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College, formally the College of St John the Evangelist in the University of Cambridge, is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch L ...

in 1892. In 1902 he was ordained a deacon at

Llandaff Cathedral Llandaff Cathedral () is a Church in Wales cathedral and parish church in Llandaff, Cardiff, Wales. It is the seat of the Bishop of Llandaff, head of the Church in Wales Diocese of Llandaff. It is dedicated to Saint Peter and Saint Paul, and ...

and the next year he was ordained as an

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

priest. In 1903 he took a position at St Martin's Church in

Roath Roath () is a district and Community (Wales), community to the north-east of the Cardiff city centre, city centre of Cardiff, capital of Wales. The area is mostly covered by the Plasnewydd electoral ward, and stretches from Adamsdown in the so ...

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

, but in 1905 he left the position when he joined the Universities' Mission to Central Africa taking a missionary role in Mponda,

Nyasaland Nyasaland () was a British protectorate in Africa that was established in 1907 when the former British Central Africa Protectorate changed its name. Between 1953 and 1963, Nyasaland was part of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. After ...

. He stayed at Mponda until 1911, then joined missions at Zomba and

Blantyre Blantyre is Malawi's centre of finance and commerce, and its second largest city, with a population of 800,264 . It is sometimes referred to as the commercial and industrial capital of Malawi as opposed to the political capital, Lilongwe. It is ...

until 1916. After the outbreak of World War I he served as an

Army chaplain A military chaplain ministers to military personnel and, in most cases, their families and civilians working for the military. In some cases, they will also work with local civilians within a military area of operations. Although the term ''cha ...

in East Africa, before settling for some time in South Africa, where he became an

Archdeacon An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in the Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, St Thomas Christians, Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denomina ...

Pretoria Pretoria ( ; ) is the Capital of South Africa, administrative capital of South Africa, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to the country. Pretoria strad ...

. He eventually returned to Britain and died in

Bromley Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is southeast of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 88,000 as of 2023. Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, charte ...

in 1961.

Rugby career

Jenkin first joined first class Welsh team Swansea in 1893, and in the winter of the 1895 season he was selected to represent Wales as part of the Home Nations Championship. Jenkin was brought into the pack for the last game of the tournament against Ireland, and was one of two new Welsh caps on the day, with Llanelli's David Morgan chosen for the first time at half-back. Under the captaincy of Welsh rugby legend Arthur 'Monkey' Gould, Wales were looking at the unwanted title of

Wooden spoon A wooden spoon is a Kitchen utensil, utensil commonly used in food preparation. In addition to its culinary uses, wooden spoons also feature in folk art and culture. History The word ''spoon'' derives from an ancient word meaning a chip of woo ...

after losing their first two games of the Championship to England and Scotland. Played at the

Cardiff Arms Park Cardiff Arms Park (), also known as The Arms Park, is primarily a rugby union stadium, and also has a bowling green. It is situated in Cardiff, Wales, next to the Millennium Stadium. The Arms Park was host to the 1958 British Empire and Common ...

, Wales won by a narrow margin thanks to a converted try from Tom Pearson. At the start of the 1895/96 season, Jenkin was awarded the captaincy of the Swansea senior team, but was forced to give it up in November due to 'professional duties', and

Billy Bancroft William James Bancroft (2 March 1871 – 3 March 1959) was a Welsh international fullback, who played club rugby for Swansea, and a county cricketer for Glamorgan, for whom he was the first professional player in 1895. Bancroft was seen as ...

took over his duties. Nonetheless, Jenkin was reselected two months later for the opening game of the 1896 Championship. The pack was almost identical to the previous match, with the only change seeing Treorchy's Sam Ramsey replacing the experienced but aging

Jim Hannan James John Hannan (January 7, 1940 – February 9, 2024) was an American professional baseball player who pitched in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1962 to 1971 for the Washington Senators, Detroit Tigers, and Milwaukee Brewers. Hannan co-f ...

. The game was a disaster for the Welsh team, with England winning the match 25–0, scoring seven tries without reply. This caused the Welsh selectors to rethink their team strategy; and the next match saw six of the eight forwards replaced; five of them new caps. Jenkin was one of those replaced and never played for Wales again.

International matches played

WalesSmith (1980), p. 463. * 1896 *

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

1895

External links

Albert Jenkin
Player profile of Albert Jenkin (ESPN)

Bibliography

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jenkin, Albert 1872 births 1961 deaths English rugby union players Wales international rugby union players Welsh rugby union players Rugby union forwards People from New Forest District Swansea RFC players Cambridge University R.U.F.C. players 20th-century Welsh Anglican priests People educated at Llandovery College Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge World War I chaplains Royal Army Chaplains' Department officers Rugby union players from Hampshire