Richard William Jennings was born in the village of King’s Stanley, Gloucestershire, on the 6th of March in 1889. Son of the Reverand Arthur C. Jennings and Mrs. G. T. Jennings, of King’s Stanley Rectory, Stonehouse. He was the younger sibling, with his brother Arthur Richard Jennings preceding him by two years. Their upbringing was typical of the era, filled with the simple joys of rural life.

As the boys grew older, they were sent off to Bradfield College in Berkshire, where they embarked on their academic journeys. Richard showed promise not only in his studies but also in the realm of sports. He was known among his peers as a "splendid" lightweight boxer, his agility and skill making him a force to be reckoned with in the ring.

Even during his time at Cambridge University, where he pursued a degree in Law, Richard continued to hone his boxing prowess as a member of Cambridge University Boxing and Fencing Club, founded in 1896.

In 1909-1910 he was the Cambridge Lightweight Boxing Champion and although his passion for boxing never waned, he was also a skilled motorcyclist, his cool demeanour and clever manoeuvres earning him admiration from his peers.

In 1910, after graduating with an LLB degree, Richard embarked on the next chapter of his life as a solicitor but as the world plunged into the chaos of the First World War, Richard's life took a drastic turn.

In September 1914, like so many of his generation, he answered the call to duty and enlisted in the Worcestershire Regiment. His bravery on the battlefield was noted, earning him the respect of his fellow soldiers. He was described as “an A1 officer, as brave as a lion, and loved and respected by us all” (The Jesus College Society Annual Report , p27).

He was posted to the Somme in June 1916 with the 10th Battalion Worcestershire Regiment and during ‘The Big Push’ he was commanding his men at la Boiselle, a small village on the front line. Forty-eight hours after the initial attack on the 1st of July, the Worcesters were in the first wave in the attack on the German front line at la Boiselle. 

They went over the top at 3 a.m., Lieutenant Jennings led his men bravely in the fighting and by midday the Worcesters had taken three lines of enemy trenches and had established a foothold in the village although they had not been able to capture it. They tried to press on through the village but met a solid resistance of machine gun fire. Lieutenant Jennings was badly hit in the leg and was dragged by Private Thomas Turrall into a nearby shell-hole for cover.

There Turrall tried his best to bandage his superior officer’s leg, using his entrenching tool as a splint, and had to single-handedly resist a bombing attack by a German raid. They also both survived a German counterattack by pretending to be dead, lying perfectly still and going unnoticed by the advancing enemy soldiers. 

Only by nightfall did Private Turrall attempt to bring Lieutenant Jennings back to their own front-line. However, Jennings had been hit at least twice during the initial attack and subsequently had been hit twice more while they hid in their shell-hole. The most Turrall could do was to give his Lieutenant cigarettes to smoke although Jennings, despite being in evident pain and having only one functioning arm, refused any attempt by Turrall to place the cigarettes in his mouth, only permitting his Private to help him light them. 

Turrall struggled on through the night, half carrying, half dragging, but managed to bring Jennings back alive. Jennings was still alive when he was taken in an ambulance to the casualty clearing station and was apparently still alive the next day as he was told that la Boiselle had finally fallen and that the Germans had been pushed back.

He was also able to tell the story of what happened and recommend Private Turrall for the Victoria Cross, although at some point he slipped into unconsciousness and eventually died from his wounds.

The citation for Private Turrall in the London Gazette on 9th September 1916 reads:

“La Boisselle, France, 3 July 1916, Private Thomas George Turrall, 10th Bn, Worcestershire Regiment.

For most conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty (La Boisselle, France). During a bombing attack by a small party against the enemy the officer in charge was badly wounded, and the party having penetrated the position to a great depth was compelled eventually to retire. Private Turrall remained with the wounded officer for three hours, under continuous and very heavy fire from machine guns and bombs, and, notwithstanding that both himself and the officer were at one time completely cut off from our troops, he held to his ground with determination, and finally carried the officer into our lines after our counter-attacks had made this possible.”

Private Turrall also wrote to Lieutenant Jennings’ mother: 

“I hope you will not think me taking a liberty writing to you in this manner, but I feel it my duty to do so, as I was with him the whole time and I think you would like to hear the part we played. I must first of all congratulate you in possessing such a plucky son, for he led our company with unflinching pluck that we were not long in taking the enemy’s front line.

"I might say that when we reached it we came across a dugout held by the Huns. Here your son remarked: “Give me a bomb I will clear them out”. He did so. From there we went on to the second line. This proved to be an easy thing for we did not find anyone there, so that made us more enterprising. We were not long before we were in the third line. This is, I am sorry to say, the starting of our hard times, for it was here he received his first wound; a rifle shot in the muscle of the left arm.

"Nothing daunted him. He kept on until he received another wound, a bomb this time which caught him in the right thigh. I might say that it was from this time that we found ourselves practically cut off from the remainder of the battalion. It was here that a brother officer advised your son to seek medical aid, but he very pluckily refused, although had he chosen to act as advised I am afraid he could not have done so as we two were now completely cut off. It was advisable to get what cover we could. So, we retired to a shell hole some distance in the rear. In doing so your son, I am sorry to say, received two more wounds, one in the right knee, and the other shattered his left leg a little below the knee. As we could get no further I did all I could for him, using my entrenching tool handle and bayonet scabbard as splints, and my puttees as bandages. It is hard to tell you that we were obliged to remain like this for something like three and a half to four hours before I at last carried him in.

"How he bore his pain was surprising, for he continually chatted and smoked with me until I at last managed to get him to the dressing station. It was here that we parted, but not without him thanking me for the part I played. I am sure in the success of the Worcesters at (blanked by censor) your son played a very prominent part although badly handicapped by his wounds. Hoping this little but thrilling account will afford you some small consolation in your great loss and at the same time sending mine and all his comrades’ sympathy.”

Lieutenant Richard William Jennings is buried at the Meaulte Military Cemetery. The Latin inscription on his headstone translates as: He was a volunteer, Distinguished by his gallantry, Beloved by all.