Sir Walter St David Jenkins CB

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(1 March 1874 – 7 June 1951) was a senior British official in the

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong *Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Traf ...

, serving as Director of Navy Contracts from 1919 to 1936. Jenkins was born on 1 March 1874 and educated at

Carmarthen Grammar School Queen Elizabeth Grammar School Carmarthen was a selective secondary school in Carmarthen, Carmarthenshire. It closed in 1978. Former students Among the school's former pupils were the educationalist Griffith Jones; the early Methodist leader an ...

and

Oswestry School Oswestry School is an ancient public school (English independent day and boarding school), located in Oswestry, Shropshire, England. It was founded in 1407 as a 'free' school, being independent of the church. This gives it the distinction of b ...

. He won a Meyricke

exhibition An exhibition, in the most general sense, is an organized presentation and display of a selection of items. In practice, exhibitions usually occur within a cultural or educational setting such as a museum, art gallery, park, library, exhibition ...

Jesus College, Oxford Jesus College (in full: Jesus College in the University of Oxford of Queen Elizabeth's Foundation) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship St ...

in 1893, obtaining his

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree in 1897 before joining the

as a first-class clerk. From 1902 to 1906, he was secretary of the committee that recommended the introduction of oil as the fuel for warships – he later drafted the Admiralty's report for presentation to the Royal Commission on Oil Fuel – whilst also spending time travelling to India and Burma to arrange for stores to be supplied to British naval stations in the Far East and to obtain teak for the Admiralty. He was commended by the

First Lord of the Admiralty The First Lord of the Admiralty, or formally the Office of the First Lord of the Admiralty, was the political head of the English and later British Royal Navy. He was the government's senior adviser on all naval affairs, responsible for the di ...

(

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...

) for securing naval coal supplies in anticipation of a miners' strike in south Wales. He was Admiralty secretary of the Railway Communications Board that drew up the plan for taking over the railways using the powers contained in the

Defence of the Realm Act The Defence of the Realm Act (DORA) was passed in the United Kingdom on 8 August 1914, four days after it entered the First World War and was added to as the war progressed. It gave the government wide-ranging powers during the war, such as the p ...

. He served on various inter-departmental committees during the First World War, and was appointed by the Government as a director of the

Anglo-Persian Oil Company The Anglo-Persian Oil Company (APOC) was a British company founded in 1909 following the discovery of a large oil field in Masjed Soleiman, Persia (Iran). The British government purchased 51% of the company in 1914, gaining a controlling number ...

in 1918, resigning to become Director of Navy Contracts in 1919. He remained in this post until retirement in 1936, thereafter working in the commercial sector. He also became the first independent chairman of the National Federation of Iron and Steel Merchants (1938–1944). He was appointed a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(1918) and a

Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a caregive ...

(1921) before being knighted on his retirement in 1936. He was also appointed an Officer of the Légion d'honneur (1918) and an Officer of the Order of the Crown of Italy (1918), as well as being awarded the

Order of St Anne of Russia The Imperial Order of Saint Anna (russian: Орден Святой Анны; also "Order of Saint Anne" or "Order of Saint Ann") was a Holstein ducal and then Russian imperial order of chivalry. It was established by Karl Friedrich, Duke of Hol ...

. He died in London on 7 June 1951.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jenkins, Walter St David 1874 births 1951 deaths Alumni of Jesus College, Oxford Civil servants in the Admiralty Anglo-Persian Oil Company Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Order of the Bath Knights Bachelor Officiers of the Légion d'honneur BP people People educated at Carmarthen Grammar School 20th-century Royal Navy personnel