Parents: Thomas Jenkins (1847-1915) Margaret Walter (1848-?)
Father of actor Richard Burton. Richard Walter Jenkins Senior was born on the 5th of March,1876 in Efail-Fach, South Wales, to parents Thomas and Margaret Jenkins, a working-class mining family originally from Pontrhydyfen. Dic Bach, as he became known, meaning 'Little Dick' due to his small stature, was named after his maternal grandfather, Richard Walter, who had at one time been the manager of the Pontrhydyfen mill.
Taking after his father Thomas, Dick, from an early age was an irresponsible, selfish, drunken gambler, whose sole pleasure seemed to be drinking away the seven shillings and six pence which he earned from his employment working down the coal-mines of Pontrhydyfen, a job he had held since the age of fourteen. Dick Jenkins, although having the reputation as a drinker and a man not be trusted, was however, according to his elder sons, an intelligent, well-read and literate man, who spoke both Welsh and English fluently. He was also a talented pit-worker and was renowned throughout the South Wales valley's for his skills. He rapidly rose to earning three pounds a week and became somewhat of a hero in the mining community. Dic Jenkin's weaknesses however were alcohol and gambling, two vices which left him frequently broke, and a borrower of money which he would never pay back, and increasingly unreliable as an employee.
Despite these failings, Dick Jenkins was a born raconteur and storyteller, (a trait obviously passed on to his famous son), and he had a charm and wit that overshadowed the fact that he was a waster and a drunkard. This charm must have worked on Edith Maud Thomas in the early days of their courtship for she was to say that it was his 'eloquence and deep rooted passion' which had made her overlook his more serious faults. A decision she must have regretted throughout the ensuing and turbulent years of her marriage. After Edith died and the younger children had been taken to the homes of their elder siblings to be raised, Dick Jenkins, now a sad, lonely and haunted figure, looking considerably older than his years, went into a slow alcoholic decline that would take thirty years to complete. Spending most of his days and nights in The Miners Arms and at other times, according to David Jenkins .." Just pottering around the house when he was there, not greatly missed when he was not.", it seemed that he had accepted the fact that his older children were now in charge of the day-to-day running of the house, and also, his life. It was Hilda, Richard Burton's sister, who would remain closest to her father, and as the elder children moved on with their lives, getting married and leaving home, it was Hilda who took responsibility for the welfare of Dick Jenkins. Eventually too, Hilda would get married and leave 2 Dan-Y-Bont forever, and when she did, she took her aged, alcoholic father with her. Dick Jenkins was always to be a neglectful and absent father, neither taking an interest or pride in any of his children's scholastic or life achievements. Sadly this was especially true in Richard's case. It has been well documented that Dick Jenkins only ever saw one of Richard Burton's films, probably 'My Cousin Rachel', taken on a family night-out to the Cardiff Premiere but leaving half-way through the screening to find a local pub, complaining that..."There was too much kissing".
The end for Dic Jenkins finally came on the 25th of March, 1957 at the Neath General Hospital, having been taken there the week previously due to breathing problems. Richard Burton received the news, by telegram, at his home in Celigny. David Jenkins was to remark that..."And so it was that I was to be the one person present at the death of both my parents. My father's death was nowhere near as traumatic as my mother's had been for her young children, but it was nonetheless a great wrench"
In what was to be a final, very telling gesture, Richard Burton did not attend the funeral.
Headstone placed in 2006, on occasion of memorial event. Bio:
https://richardburtonmuseum.weebly.com/richard-burton-people.html
Father of actor Richard Burton. Richard Walter Jenkins Senior was born on the 5th of March,1876 in Efail-Fach, South Wales, to parents Thomas and Margaret Jenkins, a working-class mining family originally from Pontrhydyfen. Dic Bach, as he became known, meaning 'Little Dick' due to his small stature, was named after his maternal grandfather, Richard Walter, who had at one time been the manager of the Pontrhydyfen mill.
Taking after his father Thomas, Dick, from an early age was an irresponsible, selfish, drunken gambler, whose sole pleasure seemed to be drinking away the seven shillings and six pence which he earned from his employment working down the coal-mines of Pontrhydyfen, a job he had held since the age of fourteen. Dick Jenkins, although having the reputation as a drinker and a man not be trusted, was however, according to his elder sons, an intelligent, well-read and literate man, who spoke both Welsh and English fluently. He was also a talented pit-worker and was renowned throughout the South Wales valley's for his skills. He rapidly rose to earning three pounds a week and became somewhat of a hero in the mining community. Dic Jenkin's weaknesses however were alcohol and gambling, two vices which left him frequently broke, and a borrower of money which he would never pay back, and increasingly unreliable as an employee.
Despite these failings, Dick Jenkins was a born raconteur and storyteller, (a trait obviously passed on to his famous son), and he had a charm and wit that overshadowed the fact that he was a waster and a drunkard. This charm must have worked on Edith Maud Thomas in the early days of their courtship for she was to say that it was his 'eloquence and deep rooted passion' which had made her overlook his more serious faults. A decision she must have regretted throughout the ensuing and turbulent years of her marriage. After Edith died and the younger children had been taken to the homes of their elder siblings to be raised, Dick Jenkins, now a sad, lonely and haunted figure, looking considerably older than his years, went into a slow alcoholic decline that would take thirty years to complete. Spending most of his days and nights in The Miners Arms and at other times, according to David Jenkins .." Just pottering around the house when he was there, not greatly missed when he was not.", it seemed that he had accepted the fact that his older children were now in charge of the day-to-day running of the house, and also, his life. It was Hilda, Richard Burton's sister, who would remain closest to her father, and as the elder children moved on with their lives, getting married and leaving home, it was Hilda who took responsibility for the welfare of Dick Jenkins. Eventually too, Hilda would get married and leave 2 Dan-Y-Bont forever, and when she did, she took her aged, alcoholic father with her. Dick Jenkins was always to be a neglectful and absent father, neither taking an interest or pride in any of his children's scholastic or life achievements. Sadly this was especially true in Richard's case. It has been well documented that Dick Jenkins only ever saw one of Richard Burton's films, probably 'My Cousin Rachel', taken on a family night-out to the Cardiff Premiere but leaving half-way through the screening to find a local pub, complaining that..."There was too much kissing".
The end for Dic Jenkins finally came on the 25th of March, 1957 at the Neath General Hospital, having been taken there the week previously due to breathing problems. Richard Burton received the news, by telegram, at his home in Celigny. David Jenkins was to remark that..."And so it was that I was to be the one person present at the death of both my parents. My father's death was nowhere near as traumatic as my mother's had been for her young children, but it was nonetheless a great wrench"
In what was to be a final, very telling gesture, Richard Burton did not attend the funeral.
Headstone placed in 2006, on occasion of memorial event. Bio:
https://richardburtonmuseum.weebly.com/richard-burton-people.html
Parents: Thomas Jenkins (1847-1915) Margaret Walter (1848-?)
Father of actor Richard Burton. Richard Walter Jenkins Senior was born on the 5th of March,1876 in Efail-Fach, South Wales, to parents Thomas and Margaret Jenkins, a working-class mining family originally from Pontrhydyfen. Dic Bach, as he became known, meaning 'Little Dick' due to his small stature, was named after his maternal grandfather, Richard Walter, who had at one time been the manager of the Pontrhydyfen mill.
Taking after his father Thomas, Dick, from an early age was an irresponsible, selfish, drunken gambler, whose sole pleasure seemed to be drinking away the seven shillings and six pence which he earned from his employment working down the coal-mines of Pontrhydyfen, a job he had held since the age of fourteen. Dick Jenkins, although having the reputation as a drinker and a man not be trusted, was however, according to his elder sons, an intelligent, well-read and literate man, who spoke both Welsh and English fluently. He was also a talented pit-worker and was renowned throughout the South Wales valley's for his skills. He rapidly rose to earning three pounds a week and became somewhat of a hero in the mining community. Dic Jenkin's weaknesses however were alcohol and gambling, two vices which left him frequently broke, and a borrower of money which he would never pay back, and increasingly unreliable as an employee.
Despite these failings, Dick Jenkins was a born raconteur and storyteller, (a trait obviously passed on to his famous son), and he had a charm and wit that overshadowed the fact that he was a waster and a drunkard. This charm must have worked on Edith Maud Thomas in the early days of their courtship for she was to say that it was his 'eloquence and deep rooted passion' which had made her overlook his more serious faults. A decision she must have regretted throughout the ensuing and turbulent years of her marriage. After Edith died and the younger children had been taken to the homes of their elder siblings to be raised, Dick Jenkins, now a sad, lonely and haunted figure, looking considerably older than his years, went into a slow alcoholic decline that would take thirty years to complete. Spending most of his days and nights in The Miners Arms and at other times, according to David Jenkins .." Just pottering around the house when he was there, not greatly missed when he was not.", it seemed that he had accepted the fact that his older children were now in charge of the day-to-day running of the house, and also, his life. It was Hilda, Richard Burton's sister, who would remain closest to her father, and as the elder children moved on with their lives, getting married and leaving home, it was Hilda who took responsibility for the welfare of Dick Jenkins. Eventually too, Hilda would get married and leave 2 Dan-Y-Bont forever, and when she did, she took her aged, alcoholic father with her. Dick Jenkins was always to be a neglectful and absent father, neither taking an interest or pride in any of his children's scholastic or life achievements. Sadly this was especially true in Richard's case. It has been well documented that Dick Jenkins only ever saw one of Richard Burton's films, probably 'My Cousin Rachel', taken on a family night-out to the Cardiff Premiere but leaving half-way through the screening to find a local pub, complaining that..."There was too much kissing".
The end for Dic Jenkins finally came on the 25th of March, 1957 at the Neath General Hospital, having been taken there the week previously due to breathing problems. Richard Burton received the news, by telegram, at his home in Celigny. David Jenkins was to remark that..."And so it was that I was to be the one person present at the death of both my parents. My father's death was nowhere near as traumatic as my mother's had been for her young children, but it was nonetheless a great wrench"
In what was to be a final, very telling gesture, Richard Burton did not attend the funeral.
Headstone placed in 2006, on occasion of memorial event. Bio:
https://richardburtonmuseum.weebly.com/richard-burton-people.html
Father of actor Richard Burton. Richard Walter Jenkins Senior was born on the 5th of March,1876 in Efail-Fach, South Wales, to parents Thomas and Margaret Jenkins, a working-class mining family originally from Pontrhydyfen. Dic Bach, as he became known, meaning 'Little Dick' due to his small stature, was named after his maternal grandfather, Richard Walter, who had at one time been the manager of the Pontrhydyfen mill.
Taking after his father Thomas, Dick, from an early age was an irresponsible, selfish, drunken gambler, whose sole pleasure seemed to be drinking away the seven shillings and six pence which he earned from his employment working down the coal-mines of Pontrhydyfen, a job he had held since the age of fourteen. Dick Jenkins, although having the reputation as a drinker and a man not be trusted, was however, according to his elder sons, an intelligent, well-read and literate man, who spoke both Welsh and English fluently. He was also a talented pit-worker and was renowned throughout the South Wales valley's for his skills. He rapidly rose to earning three pounds a week and became somewhat of a hero in the mining community. Dic Jenkin's weaknesses however were alcohol and gambling, two vices which left him frequently broke, and a borrower of money which he would never pay back, and increasingly unreliable as an employee.
Despite these failings, Dick Jenkins was a born raconteur and storyteller, (a trait obviously passed on to his famous son), and he had a charm and wit that overshadowed the fact that he was a waster and a drunkard. This charm must have worked on Edith Maud Thomas in the early days of their courtship for she was to say that it was his 'eloquence and deep rooted passion' which had made her overlook his more serious faults. A decision she must have regretted throughout the ensuing and turbulent years of her marriage. After Edith died and the younger children had been taken to the homes of their elder siblings to be raised, Dick Jenkins, now a sad, lonely and haunted figure, looking considerably older than his years, went into a slow alcoholic decline that would take thirty years to complete. Spending most of his days and nights in The Miners Arms and at other times, according to David Jenkins .." Just pottering around the house when he was there, not greatly missed when he was not.", it seemed that he had accepted the fact that his older children were now in charge of the day-to-day running of the house, and also, his life. It was Hilda, Richard Burton's sister, who would remain closest to her father, and as the elder children moved on with their lives, getting married and leaving home, it was Hilda who took responsibility for the welfare of Dick Jenkins. Eventually too, Hilda would get married and leave 2 Dan-Y-Bont forever, and when she did, she took her aged, alcoholic father with her. Dick Jenkins was always to be a neglectful and absent father, neither taking an interest or pride in any of his children's scholastic or life achievements. Sadly this was especially true in Richard's case. It has been well documented that Dick Jenkins only ever saw one of Richard Burton's films, probably 'My Cousin Rachel', taken on a family night-out to the Cardiff Premiere but leaving half-way through the screening to find a local pub, complaining that..."There was too much kissing".
The end for Dic Jenkins finally came on the 25th of March, 1957 at the Neath General Hospital, having been taken there the week previously due to breathing problems. Richard Burton received the news, by telegram, at his home in Celigny. David Jenkins was to remark that..."And so it was that I was to be the one person present at the death of both my parents. My father's death was nowhere near as traumatic as my mother's had been for her young children, but it was nonetheless a great wrench"
In what was to be a final, very telling gesture, Richard Burton did not attend the funeral.
Headstone placed in 2006, on occasion of memorial event. Bio:
https://richardburtonmuseum.weebly.com/richard-burton-people.html
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