FRANCIS CONWAY JENKINS 1888-1933 AKA F. Conway Jenkins

MR. B. C. HUCKS. BLACKBURN MERCURY Photo courtesy of Mrs. Judy O'Donovan Plane Identification courtesy of Nick Forder

BLACKBURN MERCURY II via email from Nick Forder, 4-14-04      The easy way to determine whether cockpit shots are of Bleriots or Blackburns is to look at the 'joystick'. In Bleriots this is mounted vertically and in Blackburns it is at a 30 degree angle. The pilot sits higher in a Blackburn (more on than in), and the heavy waist belt strap was used by B. C. Hucks only on the two Blackburn Mercury II aircraft entered in the 1911 Daily Mail Circuit of Britain. (one of these, flown by F Conway Jenkins crashed on take-off - it is alleged that it had been assembled with crossed control lines; the second aircraft flown by Hucks did not complete the first stage - it was converted to a two-seater and then used for a 1911 tour of the West Country; John Rideyard reprints 'The Aerial Tourist' which is an account of this tour).

 

ONLINE RESOURCES - 1      If you search for "F. Conway Jenkins" using Google, (1-14-06), you will find just 5 links. The one cited immediately below, which was suggested to me by Matthew H. G. Bryan on January 15, 2006, is the most informative of all, so far.

Brigadier-General F C Jenkins      On this page of the "Air of Authority - A History of RAF Organisation" website, you will find a brief but helpful biography of the general. There is a detailed listing of his assignments in the RFC/RAF and a few details of his activities after his military service. You can access this page by clicking on the title above.

 

The Round Britain Race The Daily Mail £10,000 Prize 22 July - 7 August 1911      On this page you find a fascinating story of the race, illustrated with many photographs and including some important links. It presents a list of the 30 entrants into the race, including F. Conway Jenkins, (No. 22), along with their aeroplanes and country of origin. Eight of them are also to be found on my website at this time. (1-14-06)

H. J. D. Astley (2) E. Audemars (13) G. Blanchet (11) André Beaumont (1) Gustav Hamel (24) C. Howard Pixton (19) S.F. Cody (20) James Valentine (14) Jules Védrines (9)

C. Compton-Paterson (7) Olivier de Montalent (23) C.P. Pizey (17) C.T.Weymann (28) Lt. Reynolds, R.E. (25) Lt. H.Bier + passenger (30) B. C. Hucks (27) Lt. R.A. Cammell, R.E. (12)

If time permits, I am sure you will want to read the whole interesting story of this historic event. You can access the site by clicking on the title above.

 

BLACKBURN      This is one of the few sites on the net which mentions F. Conway Jenkins. Unfortunately, the link is obsolete. (1-14-06) Happily, with the help of the waybackmachine.org program, I was able to recover a relevant paragraph, in French, which you can read below. "Robert Blackburn, pionnier de l'aviation, avait construit son premier avion le Blackburn Monoplane en 1910. Il fait évoluer son modèle, jusqu'au type D de 1912. Blackburn fait appel, comme à peu près tous les constructeurs contemporains, au moteur rotatif Gnome et Rhône, l'illustre " rototo ". Les Monoplane connaissent un certain succès auprès des amateurs (fortunés) qui constituent alors la clièntèle. On voit trois Blackburn Monoplane engagés dans la Round Britain Race organisée par le Daily Mail en 1911. Lors de la première étape, le premier Blackburn, piloté par le Lieutenant Porte, de la Royal Navy, s'écrase au décollage, le second, piloté par F.Conway Jenkins, se retourne à 7 mètres d'altitude. Fort heureusement, les pilotes sont indemnes. Contraint à un atterrissage forcé, le troisième Blackburn est endommagé et n'achève pas la seconde étape.". English Version - BabelFish Translation "Robert Blackburn, pioneer of aviation, had built its first plane Blackburn Monoplane in 1910. It makes evolve/move its model, until the type D of 1912. Blackburn appeals, like about all the contemporary manufacturers, with the rotary engine gnome and the Rhone, illustrates it "rototo". Monoplane are a certain success near the amateurs (fortunate) who constitute the clièntèle then. One sees three Blackburn Monoplane engaged in the Round Britain Race organized by Daily Mail in 1911. At the time of the first stage, first Blackburn, controlled by Lieutenant Porte, of Royal Navy, is crushed on takeoff, the second, controlled by F.Conway Jenkins, is turned over to 7 meters of altitude. Extremely fortunately, the pilots are unscathed."

 

ONLINE RESOURCES - 2      If you search for "Francis Conway Jenkins" using Google, (1-15-06), you will find about four links, including two to the National Portrait Gallery which announces the availablilty of two portraits in their collection. Unfortunately, they are not on display on the site at this time.

He died after an operation at the age of 44 on February 23, 1933. from the "Air of Authority - A History of RAF Organisation" website

 

Editor's Note: If you have any more information on him or his career, please contact me. E-mail to Ralph Cooper

 

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