Branch of Service

Army

Conflict

World War I (1914-1918)

Date of Enlistment

03/11/1914

Place of Enlistment

Royal Military College, Duntroon ACT

Gender

Male

Date of Birth

30/10/1892

Place of Birth

Kew, Victoria

Address (at enlistment)

Royal Military College, Duntroon ACT

School(s) Attended

Camberwell Grammar, Queens College (Hobart), University of Melbourne

Occupation

Soldier

Next of Kin

Son of Robert and Sobeski Kennedy of Collins Street, Melbourne, Victoria

Burial Place

Dranoutre Military Cemetery, Belgium, grave 1.K.6.

Final Rank

Captain

Final Unit

1 Division Headquarters AIF

Died of wounds 2 January 1918, near Wytschaete, Belgium aged 24 years

AWM Roll of Honour Memorial Panel 2, Canberra ACT

Even though Kennedy entered the Royal Military College, Duntroon in March 1913 he was included in the second class of cadets as he was over 19 years of age. According to his Roll of Honour circular he played half back for Melbourne in the VFL before entering RMC. He graduated from the college in November 1914 and joined the 5th Light Horse Regiment as a Lieutenant. The AWM image shows Kennedy with fellow officers of the 5th Light Horse Regiment on board the SS Persic on 10 December 1914 on their way to Egypt. By the time he landed on Gallipoli in May 1915 he was attached to his regiment's Machine Gun Section. The 5th Light Horse Regiment was positioned at the southern end of the Anzac line on Gallipoli. Kennedy was shot in the wrist during the fighting of August 1915 and was evacuated to England for treatment. After recovering from his wound and from enteric fever, Kennedy spent several months attached to the War Office before joining the 52nd Battalion with whom he was promoted to the rank of Captain in December 1916. He arrived in France in February 1917 and the following month underwent training as a staff officer. In July 1917 Kennedy was appointed to the staff of 1st Division Headquarters as a GSO III.

On the night of 2 January 1918, at about 8pm, Kennedy and three others were moving along a road near Onraet Wood (between Messines and Ypres in Belgium) when they came under shell fire. They began running but a shell burst at Kennedy's feet wounding him just below the right ribs and in the neck. He was dressed at a nearby pill box then stretchered to an Advanced Dressing Station at Wytschaete. He was taken by ambulance to the Main Dressing Station but died at 10pm, regaining consciousness for a short time only. He was buried next day with full military honours in Dranoutre Military Cemetery in Belgium, about 2½ miles north east of Bailleul, France. The AWM image shows Kennedy and other officers of the 5th Light Horse Regiment aboard HMAT Persic on their way to Egypt in 1914.

Colonel J.E. Lee, 'Duntroon: The Royal Military College of Australia 1911-1946', 1952
AWM Roll of Honour Database
AWM Collections Record : P01541.001
NAA RecordSearch - Series B2455 (First Australian Imperial Force Personnel Dossiers, 1914-1920)