THE GREAT WAR.

Otago Witness, Issue 3804, 8 February 1927, Page 79

THE GREAT WAR.

BRITAIN'S FIRST SHOT. THE MAN WHO FIRED IT. AUCKLAND, January 31. The man who fired Britain’s first shot in the Great War, Mr A. G. Jenkins, was among the 615 arrivals by the Pakeha who have come to try their luck in New Zealand _ He brought with him his wife and their year-old baby, Patricia, who was a general favourite with the passengers throughout the voyage. While he holds no decorations other than his service medals, the ex-gunner of the Royal Horse Artillery, who has This unique honour, possesses a remarkable record. _ Besides giving Von Moltke the first indication that Britain meant business, he probably fired more shells than any other British gunner, for he served throughout the war without receiving a wound, and entered Germany during the Rhine occupation, remaining there until the end of 1919. He speaks of this memory of 12J years ago with extreme modesty. _ “It was just a piece of luck,” was his comment, “and I thought it was a good omen that the shell was anything but a dud. Did I get any decorations? No, I’ve got myself, and that is good enough for me.” Mr Jenkins joined the artillery in 1911, and at the time the first shot was fired at 11.30 a.m. on August 22, 1914. was a gunner in the E Battery, Royal Horse Artillery, which was part of the Third London Brigade. The scene of the historic incident was Binche, near Mons. It was a small Belgian village on the right of the British line forming the right flank position of Haig’s First Army Corps. The movements of the next few days and the immortal story of the part the “Old Contemptibles” played needs no recapitulation. The case of the shell Gunner Jc_kins fired is now a coveted trophy for competition between the football teams of the British Army. The gun itself is housed at the Imperial War Exhibition in London. In recognition of his famous part in the war Mr Jenkins was accorded the honour of unveiling last November the artillery memorial at Hyde Park, London. This was closely on the eve of his departure for New Zealand. A tall man of fine physique, and showing no sign in his youthful appearance of the strain of his lengthy service, Mr Jenkins is in every sense a likely candidate for the farming career he has chosen. He a~d his family le ’. this evening for Te Kauwhata, a farming and fruit-growing district 54 miles south of Auckland, where he will enter into partnership with Mr W. Sherson, who is Mrs Jenkins's uncle.