Lives of the First World War

1915

Frank Jenns, from Manor Park, was responsible for writing up the West Ham Battalion's 'Daily Intelligence Summary'. He was the assistant Adjutant for The Hammers and this in itself is highly unusual as he was only a Corporal. The role of assistant Adjutant was always carried out by an Officer, at least a 2/Lt minimum. But Frank was somehow appointed, perhaps on the orders of Lt-Col Papillon, and it must have been down to what job he did before enlisting. I still haven't discovered this yet but hope one day to find the answer. Whatever he did it required good, and I mean VERY good, typing and note taking and organisation. That is borne out by lengthy after-action reports he typed up without a mistake . Over the course of the Great War Frank progressed from Private all the way through to Commission and Officer training. He's the only one who did that. Many 'Other Rank' Hammers became Officers, but were always posted to other Regiments, as is the British Army convention. From: http://westhampals.blogspot.co.uk/

Created by: , Peter5151