55119 Regimental Sergeant Major J. D. Kennedy was a veteran of the First World War and was the Regimental Sergeant-Major of the Queen’s Own from 1933-37.

Kennedy was born 28 January 1885 in Grey County Ontario to Charles Kennedy and Elizabeth McColl. At the time of his attestation into the 19th Battalion CEF on 11 November 1914 he was 29 years old, listed his occupation as Letter Carrier, had already served two years with the Queen’s Own, and was married to Mary E Hayes.

Kennedy was wounded in the thigh by shrapnel the morning 10 April 1916 at Etaples, France. He was discharged as fit by June 1916 but appears to have remained in England on administrative duties until the end of the war. After being discharged from active service in 1919 he rejoined his old regiment, the Queen’s Own. By 1928  he is a Company Sergeant-Major (Warrant Officer 2^nd Class) and in 1933 is promoted to Warrant Officer 1^st Class and appointed as Regimental Sergeant-Major a position he holds until his release in 1937.

In 1936 Mary died and in 1938 Kennedy married Mable Evelyn Thompson. During the Second World War Kennedy served with the Veterans Guard of Canada as Sergeant-Major. He passed away 17 September, 1948 and is buried in Durham Cemetery, Grey County, Ontario.

Timeline of Service

• 1914, 11 November, attested into 19th Bn CEF;
• 1916, 10 April, wounded at Etaples;
• 1919, 19 February, discharged from active service;
• 1928, appears in a photo of the Sergeants’ Mess as CSM JD Kennedy;
• 1930, appears in a photo of the Sergeants Mess as WO2;
• 1933, appears in a photo of the Sergeants at Camp Niagara;
• 1933, appears in a photo of the Sergeants’ Mess as RSM JD Kennedy WO1;
• 1934, appears in a photo of the Officers of the Sergeants’ Mess as RSM JD Kennedy.

His WWI records can be found here.