The man behind one of Welsh theatres funniest pantomime characters has raised £6,000 for Wales Air Ambulance through the sale of his book ‘Tis Me Honest’.
84-year-old Denys Jenkins, B.E.M., also known as Denny Twp, put pen to paper during the pandemic.
He normally would have done personal appearances to help cover the cost of printing – but due to restrictions at the time, he rallied the support of local businesses who kindly covered the cost.
Over the decades he has raised over a million pounds for charities including Wales Air Ambulance. In 2014 Denys received the British Empire Medal for his services to the community and charity work, just one of the many awards he has received over the years.
The Friendship Theatre Group of which he was a member gave a thousand pounds each year to the Wales Air Ambulance from the pantomime takings.
Denys said: “When I decided to write my book, I wanted the lifesaving service to be the beneficiary. It is a wonderful charity.”
Wales Air Ambulance is consultant-led, taking hospital-standard treatments to the patient and, if required, transferring them directly to the most appropriate hospital for their illness or injury.
It is delivered via a unique third sector and public sector partnership. The Wales Air Ambulance Charity relies on public donations to raise the £11.2 million required every year to keep the helicopters in the air and rapid response vehicles on the road.
The Emergency Medical Retrieval and Transfer Service (EMRTS) supplies highly skilled NHS consultants and critical care practitioners who work on board the Charity’s vehicles.
This advanced critical care includes the ability to administer anaesthesia, deliver blood transfusions and conduct minor operations, all at the scene of an incident.
As a pan-Wales service, its dedicated crews, regardless of where they are based, will travel the length and breadth of the country to deliver emergency critical care.
Denys and his wife Lois visited the Charity’s Dafen airbase in October to present a cheque to Regional Fundraising Manager Christian Sullivan.
Denys said: “Lois was the instigator for this book, and it is thanks to her that we have sold six hundred books. It was a great feeling to hand over the cheque.”
He did not have the easiest start in life, born in 1941 to a teenager mother, he was put in a children’s home. But at fifteen months of age, he was adopted by Mansel and Glenys Jenkins from Gorseinon. He describes them as the ‘best mum and dad anyone could have.’
His parents had a small grocer’s shop on Lower Lime Street, and his father was an ambulance driver. He had a love of comedy from an early age listening to the radio. He said: “I would imitate Terry Scott, the way he spoke and acted. This is where the Denny Twp character came from.”
In his teenage years he attended the Gorseinon County Youth Club, where he took a course in drama and ballroom dancing, entering competitions and winning some!
Denys worked for 3M for thirty-five years, at 53 he took early retirement, but then worked as a learning support assistant at Penyrheol and Birchgrove Comprehensive Schools.
He was a scout leader for forty years and received the Silver Acorn for his distinguished services to scouting.
Well known among his friends and colleagues for telling jokes, he was invited to compere the local workingman’s club concert party. He appeared on stage as rugby player, then a baby and entered a talent contest. An agent saw his performance and persuaded him to do a comedy act, which is how the stage name Denny Howell was born.
Over the years he got to work with Marty Wilde, Dave Allen, Bucks Fizz and Bonnie Tyler. He also took on ‘extras’ work on television programmes like Pobol Y Cwm and Heartland with Anthony Hopkins.
During this time, he used to do two charity shows a month and was asked if he would be interested in doing pantomime. He joined the Everyman Theatre Group and signed up for Babes in the Wood, back in 1981. He was asked what name he would like his character to have, and settled on Denny Twp. The rest is history.
Denys said: “I feel very blessed to have had the life I have lived. I have thoroughly enjoyed all of it; I would not change a thing.
“I have fabulous large family and good friends. Lois and I met in our forties, and we have been happily married for 35 years.
“I love making people happy, and seeing them laugh, it’s really been wonderful.”
Christian Sullivan, Regional Fundraising Manager for Wales Air Ambulance said: “We are so grateful to Denys for all he has done to support not only our lifesaving service over the years, but many charitable organisations.
“His life story is extraordinary, I really do not know how he has been able to pack it all in, but it clearly suits him, as his sense of humour and joke-telling is still going strong.
“Denys clearly loves to make people smile, but it is more than that he has shown great compassion over the years for his fans, often visiting them when they were sick in hospital.
“He has turned his own journey into a book, used the funds raised to help save people’s lives, his generosity is endless.
“On behalf of the Wales Air Ambulance family, we would like to extend our thanks to Denys and Lois for caring so much and continuing to help others.”
