William Albert Jenkins

Sir William Albert Jenkins (9 September 1878 – 23 October 1968) was a Welsh coal exporter, ship owner and Liberal politician.

Family Jenkins was born in Swansea the son of Daniel and Elizabeth Jenkins. In 1906 he married Beatrice Tyler of Pirbright in Surrey. His wife died in 1967.

Career At the age of 13 years, Jenkins went to work as an office boy in the Swansea docks where he acquired a thorough knowledge of the coal and shipping trades. He later set up his own business W A Jenkins & Co, wholesale coal and coke factors and shipbrokers. His business expanded greatly during World War One. During his time in Parliament, Jenkins was a contributor to debates concerning industrial questions and Welsh issues. under the description National Liberal at a by-election in Llanelly. He did not win the seat however which was held for Labour by Jim Griffiths the president of the South Wales Miners' Federation with a majority of 16,221 votes, virtually unchanged since the 1935 general election.

Local politics and public service

Jenkins sat as a member of Swansea Borough Council from 1927 to 1954 and served as Mayor of Swansea between 1947 and 1949. In 1928 he was appointed a Justice of the Peace for the County of Glamorgan and was sometime Chairman of the Bench of Magistrates, Gower Petty sessional division. He was also awarded the Borough of Swansea Order of St John Council. Jenkins also qualified for a number of foreign decorations. In 1933 he became a Knight, First Class, of the Order of the Dannebrog (Denmark); a holder of the Gold Cross Royal Order of George I of Greece, (1938) and was Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur (France) in 1949.