Current Information:

Age-21

14, Crogsland Road, Chalk Farm

Hebuterne Military Cemetery, France

During the Spring and early summer of 1916, 56th Division which included the 12th London battalion of 168 Brigade, had been preparing for their part in the forthcoming great offensive on the Somme. Much of this training had taken place in and around Souastre and on June 8th, with less than a month to go before the ‘big push’, 12th London moved into the front line trenches in front of the village of Hebuterne.Two days later, on the night of the 10th June, 1916, a redistribution of companies was taking place and D Company was moving up from reserve into the old support line which ran behind a belt of trees bordering the Hebuterne orchards. Every now and then throughout this procedure the Germans sent over their large trench mortars, minenwerfers, or ‘minnies’ as they were called by the British troops. They were much feared by those on the receiving end for their tremendous explosive power but because they moved slowly through the air and were large they could be spotted and with luck, avoided. That night it was the task of Arthur Jenner to stand clear of the trench and to keep an eye out for these projectiles but one of the ‘minnies’  exploded prematurely and killed him.