Private

Joshua Ernest jenyns

Joshua Ernest Jenyns was born on the 12^th of January 1888 in Brisbane Queensland, to Mr Joshua Jenyns and Mrs Sarah Barnes Jenyns (nee Burley) as the sixth of their 9 children.

Joshua Ernest Jenyns was born on the 12^th of January 1888 in Brisbane Queensland, to Mr Joshua Jenyns and Mrs Sarah Barnes Jenyns (nee Burley) as the sixth of their 9 children. His older siblings (from eldest to youngest) were Herbert, Edith, Florence, Ettie and Ethel (died in childhood). His younger siblings (from eldest to youngest) were Robert, Eva and Edmund. Joshua Ernest Jenyns had a large family even by the standards on the time as this was the second marriage for both his parents. Both Joshua Sr and Sarah were widowed in 1873 and they subsequently married each other on the 17^th of April 1875. Joshua Sr had six children from his previous marriage, four of whom joined this new family. Joshua Ernest Jenyns’ half siblings were Henry (died in infancy), Josiah (died 1881 aged 20), Joshua Meshect, Ebenezer, Amelia (died in childhood) and Walter (died 1887 aged 16). Joshua’s youth was notable for many deaths in his family, including his sisters Ethel (1890), Eva (1903), Ettie (1908) and Florence (1912); his mother Sarah (1908) and his father Joshua Snr (1913).

Shortly after the birth of Joshua in 1888, the family moved to Beaudesert, Queensland, with family members later living in Tamborine and around the Scenic Rim. Prior to his enlistment in the A.I.F Joshua worked as a dairy farmer in Beaudesert. Joshua and his younger brother Edmund both enlisted in 1915 and were assigned to the 25^th and 26^th Battalions respectively. Both men listed their brother Robert (a dairy farmer from Tamborine) as their next of kin. Robert would also go on to enlist in 1917 and would serve in the Australian Army Service Corps.

The 25th Battalion was raised at Enoggera in Queensland in March 1915 as part of the 7th Brigade. Although predominantly composed of men recruited in Queensland, the battalion also included a small contingent of men from Darwin. The battalion left Australia in early July, trained in Egypt during August and by early September was manning trenches at Gallipoli. Pte Jenyns joined the battalion after the Gallipoli campaign before it made its way to France.

Pte Jenyns was killed on the 29th of July at Pozieres as part of the 1916 Somme Offensive. The 25th Australian Infantry Battalion took part in an assault on the German lines at Pozieres on the 28th and 29th of July. The 25th Battalion sustained 34 killed, 132 wounded and 179 missing in the battle. Pte Jenyns would have been among those listed as missing. His body was never recovered and he has no known grave. Pozieres was the costliest battle of the First World War for Australian forces, with the AIF sustaining 23,000 casualties over a 45 day period for minimal gains.

Both of Joshua's brothers, Robert and Edmund would survive the First World War. Edmund had a particularly distinguished service, He was wounded in action at Pozieres and was subsequently mentioned in dispatches for ‘distinguished and gallant services and devotion to duty in the field’. He was returned to Australia and re-enlisted in late 1917 joining the 49^th Battalion as a Sergeant. He was promoted to 2^nd Lieutenant at the end of the First World War and went on to serve Australia in the Second World War.

Medals & Awards