John Barnard Jenkins | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Birth name | John Barnard |
| Born | 11 March 1933 Cardiff, Wales |
| Died | 17 December 2020 (aged 87) Wrexham, Wales |
| Allegiance | Mudiad Amddiffyn Cymru |
| Service |  British Army |
| Unit | Royal Army Dental Corps |
John Barnard Jenkins (11 March 1933 – 17 December 2020) was a Welsh nationalist, British Army soldier, and leader of the Welsh nationalist group Mudiad Amddiffyn Cymru from 1964 until his arrest in 1969. During his tenure, the MAC embarked on a campaign of Welsh resistance against the British government, and bombed numerous sites in and around Wales. In 1970, Jenkins was convicted for his involvement in these activities, and sentenced to several concurrent 10 year terms of confinement, of which he served seven years.[1]
Jenkins was born in Cardiff and grew up in the village of Penybryn, near Gelligaer. He attended Bargoed Grammar School but left at 13 to take up a job as a blacksmith's apprentice. He enlisted in the British Army in 1950 becoming a non-commissioned officer in the Royal Army Dental Corps, and serving in Germany, Cyprus and Austria. In 1964, Jenkins became a member of Mudiad Amddiffyn Cymru, a Welsh nationalist movement, effectively becoming the leader of the organisation after a short period. He was influenced by major events in Wales during the time, such as the Tryweryn Bill and the Aberfan disaster, which he believed were the result of the subjugation of the nation. After spending two years reshaping the logistics and security of the group, the organisation began a bombing campaign against targets they identified as detrimental to the interests of Wales.
The first bombing targeted a water pipeline at Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant and the campaign continued with attacks on numerous targets for several years, including tax offices, monuments and an English-owned business. The attacks culminated in four bombs being planted to disrupt the investiture of Prince Charles at Caernarfon Castle in 1969. The first device exploded prematurely, killing two MAC members, while two failed to detonate. One of these laid undiscovered for several days before seriously injuring a 10-year old boy who discovered the device. The last exploded in the garden of a police Chief Constable. Later that year, Jenkins was arrested and charged with theft and explosive offences in relation to the bombings and was sentenced to ten years in prison.
Released in 1976, he studied to become a social worker and was employed in the profession for the majority of his later life. He spent a further two years in jail after admitting that he provided the address of a safe house to a wanted fugitive in the early 1980s.