WW1 British War Medal named 17955 PTE E JENKINS YORKS LI.
Ebenezer Jenkins born 1890 in Mardy, Glamorgan, Wales was a Collier (hewer) enlisted into the 8th Kings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry numbered 17955. He landed in France on 26th Aug 1915 but was killed in action on first day of the Somme 1st Jul 1916. The 8th Battalion of the Kings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry (KOYLI) suffered devastating casualties during the opening attack of the Battle of the Somme, losing around 80% of their fighting strength in a single day.The battalion went into action with 25 officers and 659 other ranks. By the end of the day, a staggering 21 officers and approximately 518 to 550 men were listed as killed, wounded, or missing. Only one medical officer and 110 other ranks reported present after the assault.The men were tasked with crossing 400 yards of heavily defended No Man's Land north of Ovillers. While the first two waves managed to reach the second German trench line and some even made it to the third, very few from the reserve waves survived the machine-gun fire to reinforce these trenches.
