George Cliffe Jenkins, born on 18th May 1896, was admitted to King Edward’s School in September 1906. His father, George Edward, was an architect, and the family, including his mother, Harriet, lived in The Crescent, Hampton-in-Arden. In 1911, George was the only one of three siblings living at home.
At School, George had no outstanding academic results but he was a talented gymnast, winning a Gymnastics Medal in 1911.
George enlisted in the 21st Royal Fusiliers (Public School) in September 1914. He served in France as a Sergeant until the spring of 1916, when he gained a commission as a Second Lieutenant in the York and Lancaster Regiment. On 3rd May 1917, aged twenty, George was declared missing, presumed killed, after leading his men in a bombing attack at Bullecourt. He is commemorated on the Arras Memorial, and his father requested his medals several years after the war.