Background
Jenkin was born on 9 October 1925 in Ilkeston, Derbyshire, where his Cornish father was in training as a clergyman. He chose the Bardic name “Son of Exile” (Map Dyvroeth).
politician president secretary teacher
Jenkin was born on 9 October 1925 in Ilkeston, Derbyshire, where his Cornish father was in training as a clergyman. He chose the Bardic name “Son of Exile” (Map Dyvroeth).
He was also a Grand Bard of the Gorseth Kernow. He was proud of his Cornish identity. In 1947 Jenkin was made a Bard of the Gorseth Kernow through Cornish language qualification, while serving in the British Army.
He was a Grand Bard of the Gorseth Kernow twice, between 1976 and 1982 and between 1985 and 1988.
He was chairman of in 1973 and became its life president in 1998. Election candidacies
Jenkin fought two Westminster parliamentary elections (Falmouth and Camborne in 1970 and Street Ives 1983).
In 1979 he stood for the European parliamentary constituency on a platform of a “Cornwall Only” seat rather than one shared with part of Devon and polled 10,205 votes, 5.9% of the total vote. He was a teacher and fluent writer of the Cornish language.
He was secretary of the International Celtic Congress and later its president
He gave strong support to the Cornish Constitutional Convention. He was president of the Federation of Old Cornwall Societies from 1991 to 1992. They had four children, Morwenna, Loveday, Gawen and Conan, two of whom have stood as candidates for Parliament.
Ann Trevenen Jenkin became the first female Grand Bard from 1997 until 2000.
He died in Truro on 29 October 2002, aged 77.
In 1951, he was one of the founder members of the Cornish political party.
He was a member of Crowan Parish Council from 1964 until 1995.