Jenkins, Harold

Jenkins, Harold (1909-2000), literary scholar, was born on 19 July 1909 in Shenley, Buckinghamshire, the eldest son of Henry Jenkins (1878-1932), a dairyman, and his wife, Mildred, née Carter, who were cousins. Harold had an elder and a younger sister, and two younger brothers. Educated at a local school from the age of three, he won a free place in 1920 at what became Wolverton grammar school. Scholarships enabled him to proceed in 1927 to University College, London, where he read English language and literature. He graduated in 1930 with first-class honours, winning both the George Morley medal in English literature and the prestigious George Smith studentship (1930-31). The subsequent award of the Quain studentship enabled him to continue his studies for another five years, during which he also taught.

His MA thesis (1933) on the Elizabethan dramatist Henry Chettle, supervised by W. W. Greg, was published in revised form as The Life and Work of Henry Chettle in the following year. After a year as William Noble fellow in the University of Liverpool he took up a lecturership in English in 1936 at the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa, where he stayed until 1945. His Witwatersrand DLitt thesis (1945) appeared in revised form as Edward Benlowes (1602-76): Biography of a Minor Poet (1952). During his time in South Africa, he produced book reviews in the form of radio broadcasts, 1940-1941 and 1944-1945. In 1939 he married Gladys Puddifoot (1908-1984), whom he had met as a student. She became a respected historian and was an ideal partner, sharing his scholarly interests until her death in a road accident in 1984.

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