Sir Reginald Kennedy-Cox

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

, JP (18 April 1881 – 27 July 1966) was a British dramatist and social reformer, best known for his social work in the East End of London where he founded several Dockland Settlements. Before he committed himself to this work he was a successful playwright, several of his works being performed on the London stage. He was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

in 1930 and appointed

in 1944.

Career

Kennedy-Cox was born in 1881, the son of Reginald Cox and his wife Ada Harriette, . After attending

Malvern College Malvern College is an Independent school (United Kingdom), independent coeducational day and boarding school in Malvern, Worcestershire, Malvern, Worcestershire, England. It is a public school (United Kingdom), public school in the British sen ...

he studied at

Hertford College, Oxford Hertford College ( ), previously known as Magdalen Hall, is a colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It is located on Catte Street in the centre of Oxford, directly opposite the main ga ...

. On leaving the university he had some success as a dramatist; between 1904 and 1906 three of his plays were staged at the

Royalty Royalty may refer to: * Any individual monarch, such as a king, queen, emperor, empress, etc. * Royal family, the immediate family of a king or queen regnant, and sometimes his or her extended family * Royalty payment for use of such things as int ...

and

London Coliseum The London Coliseum (also known as the Coliseum Theatre) is a theatre in St Martin's Lane, Westminster, built as one of London's largest and most luxurious "family" variety theatres. Opened on 24 December 1904 as the London Coliseum Theatre ...

theatres in London. In 1905, he began work as a volunteer at the Malvern

Settlement Settlement may refer to: *Human settlement, a community where people live *Settlement (structural), the distortion or disruption of parts of a building *Closing (real estate), the final step in executing a real estate transaction *Settlement (fina ...

in the

Canning Town Canning Town is a district in the London Borough of Newham, East London. The district is located to the north of the Royal Victoria Dock, and has been described as the "Child of the Victoria Docks" as the timing and nature of its urbanisation ...

district of London; the settlement had been founded in 1894 by Malvern College as a means whereby boys from the upper and middle classes could carry out social work among London's poor. In 1907, Kennedy-Cox joined the staff of the settlement. During 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 ...

, he was commissioned into the

Hampshire Regiment The Hampshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, created as part of the Childers Reforms in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 37th (North Hampshire) Regiment of Foot and the 67th (South Hampshire) Regiment of Foot. The regi ...

, and later served with the

King's Royal Rifle Corps The King's Royal Rifle Corps was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army that was originally raised in British North America as the Royal American Regiment during the phase of the Seven Years' War in North America known in the United St ...

and at 27th Divisional headquarters, being

mentioned in dispatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

. After the war he returned to the Malvern Settlement as Warden and oversaw a period of considerable building and expansion. The Malvern Settlement became "Dockland Settlement No. 1"; in the following years, using his private financial resources, Kennedy-Cox led an extension of the

Dockland Settlements The Docklands Settlements were a network of amenity centres in deprived areas of London, intended to meet the social and spiritual needs of the local population at a time when there was no public provision of such services. The settlements originat ...

scheme into other areas of London, including

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east ...

Rotherhithe Rotherhithe () is a district of south-east London, England, and part of the London Borough of Southwark. It is on a peninsula on the south bank of the Thames, facing Wapping, Shadwell and Limehouse on the north bank, as well as the Isle of Dogs ...

and Stratford. Branch settlements were established in other cities. For his work in this field, Kennedy-Cox was knighted in 1930. Sir Reginald retired from his full-time work in 1937. During the Second World War he served as an army welfare officer at Southern Command, with the rank of

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

. In 1944 his war work earned him a CBE. After the war he returned to Canning Town to assist in the reconstruction of Settlement No. 1, whose buildings had been badly damaged by war. He also acted as chairman of the Salisbury Arts Theatre Board, and was a governor of Malvern College. He died at Salisbury on 27 July 1966. Sir Reginald had adopted a son who was killed during a

London Blitz The Blitz was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War. The term was first used by the British press and originated from the term , the German word meaning 'lightning war'. The Germa ...

raid and is buried with him at

All Saints' Church All Saints Church, or All Saints' Church or variations on the name may refer to: Albania *All Saints' Church, Himarë Australia *All Saints Church, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory * All Saints Anglican Church, Henley Brook, Western Austr ...

Sutton Courtenay Sutton Courtenay is a village and civil parish on the River Thames south of Abingdon-on-Thames and northwest of Didcot. Historically part of Berkshire, it has been administered as part of Oxfordshire since the 1974 boundary changes. The 201 ...

, Oxfordshire.

Publications

Kennedy-Cox wrote two biographical books: ''An Autobiography'', 1931 and ''The Happiest Man: Through the Dock Gates'', 1939. He also wrote a history of the docklands area, ''Dockland Saga'', 1955. Among his dramatic works were ''The Chetwynd Affair'', ''Mary Stuart'' and ''The Marriage Brokers''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kennedy-Cox, Reginald 1881 births 1966 deaths People educated at Malvern College Alumni of Hertford College, Oxford Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Knights Bachelor English male dramatists and playwrights English justices of the peace 20th-century English dramatists and playwrights 20th-century English male writers British Army personnel of World War I British Army personnel of World War II Place of birth missing Royal Hampshire Regiment officers King's Royal Rifle Corps officers