Major-General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Sir John Kennedy (1878–1948) was a senior

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

officer who served in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and commanded 1st Division.

Military career

Educated at Haileybury,Haileybury: medals
/ref> Kennedy was commissioned into the

Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders Argyll (; archaically Argyle, in modern Gaelic, ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a historic county and registration county of western Scotland. Argyll is of ancient origin, and corresponds to most of the part of the ancient kingdom of ...

in 1898. He served with the Egyptian Army until the

when he fought on the Western Front: he became Commanding Officer of 7th Bn

Seaforth Highlanders The Seaforth Highlanders (Ross-shire Buffs, The Duke of Albany's) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, mainly associated with large areas of the northern Highlands of Scotland. The regiment existed from 1881 to 1961, and saw servic ...

in 1916 and Commander of 26th (Highland) Brigade in 1917. He was appointed Inspector of Infantry in 1918, Instructor at the Senior Officers School in 1919 and Commanding Officer of 2nd Bn

The Buffs The Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment), formerly the 3rd Regiment of Foot, was a line infantry regiment of the British Army traditionally raised in the English county of Kent and garrisoned at Canterbury. It had a history dating back to 1572 and ...

in 1923. He went on to be Commander of

19th Indian Infantry Brigade The 19th Indian Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade formation of the Indian Army during World War II. It was formed in October, 1940 at Old Delhi in British Raj, India and assigned to the 8th Infantry Division (India), 8th Indian Infantry Di ...

in 1926, General Officer Commanding

44th (Home Counties) Division The Home Counties Division was an infantry division of the Territorial Force, part of the British Army, that was raised in 1908. As the name suggests, the division recruited in the Home Counties, particularly Kent, Middlesex, Surrey and Sussex. ...

in January 1933 and General Officer Commanding 1st Division in April 1934 before retiring in 1937.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Kennedy, John 1878 births 1948 deaths British Army major generals British Army generals of World War I Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders officers Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Order of the Bath Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Companions of the Distinguished Service Order People educated at Haileybury and Imperial Service College