Rowland Kenney (1882-1961) was a British diplomat, propagandist, author and editor. During

World War I 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 World War II, Kenney directed British

propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

and

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...

. Kenney was born on 28 December 1882 in Shelderslow, Saddleworth,

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...

, now part of Oldham District. Son of Horatio Nelson Kenney (1849-1912), a cotton-mill worker, and his Ann Kenney (née Wood, 1852–1905), Kenney was the brother of suffragette

Annie Kenney Ann "Annie" Kenney (13 September 1879 – 9 July 1953) was an English working-class suffragette and socialist feminist who became a leading figure in the Women's Social and Political Union. She co-founded its first branch in London with Minnie ...

. In his youth and early adulthood, Kenney worked a series of manual labor jobs, before taking up work as a salesman, and joining the Shop Assistants' Union and the

Independent Labour Party The Independent Labour Party (ILP) was a British political party of the left, established in 1893 at a conference in Bradford, after local and national dissatisfaction with the Liberals' apparent reluctance to endorse working-class candidates ...

. His work in various socialist organizations led him to become a journalist and later an editor of the Daily Herald, and briefly, a publisher of Vanity Fair. Kenney married Dano-Norwegian Asta Ingrid Brockdorff (1883-1947) in 1911, and spent some time in Norway before the onset of the First World War. In 1916, with war raging in Europe, Kenney was recommended to the

Foreign Office Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * Unit ...

as an agent who could assess the propaganda situation in Norway. Having drawn up a report, Kenney was subsequently offered the position as Press Attaché in the British

Legation A legation was a diplomatic representative office of lower rank than an embassy. Where an embassy was headed by an ambassador, a legation was headed by a Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, minister. Ambassadors diplomatic rank, out ...

(now Embassy) in Norway's capital Christiania (now Oslo). As Press Attaché, Kenney made contact with Norwegian editors and publishers and under cover of being a

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was estab ...

correspondent, supplied Norwegian media with British propaganda. He was also instrumental in reshaping the Norwegian Telegram Bureau (NTB) to separate it from its German influence. After

, Kenney, still working for the Foreign Office, travelled to Poland to assess the political situation and reported back to the British delegation at

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, u ...

. Returning from Versailles to England in 1918, Kenney suffered a plane crash and survived with lasting injuries. He continued in the inter-war years to work for various government institutions tied to the Foreign Office. In particular, he was a key player in the establishment of the

British Council The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh lan ...

. During this time, he wrote his autobiography Westering, published in 1939. As

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

loomed in 1939, Kenney was sent back to Oslo, again as Press Attaché. His mission was the same as in World War I, but it was cut short by the

German invasion of Norway German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **G ...

in April 1940. Fleeing Oslo, Kenney found himself in a small contingent of British diplomats and the intelligence officer

Frank Foley Major Francis "Frank" Edward Foley CMG (24 November 1884 – 8 May 1958) was a British Secret Intelligence Service officer. As a passport control officer for the British embassy in Berlin, Foley " bent the rules" and helped thousands ...

. They made their escape to

Åndalsnes is a town in Rauma Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. Åndalsnes is in the administrative center of Rauma Municipality. It is located along the Isfjorden, at the mouth of the river Rauma, at the north end of the Romsdalen valley. ...

. During this time, Kenney connected with Norwegian officials seeking to establish Allied news services in Norway, as well as the Norwegian officer

Martin Linge Martin Jensen Linge, (11 December 1894 – 27 December 1941) was a Norwegian actor who, in World War II, became the commander of the Norwegian Independent Company 1 (NOR.I.C.1) (pronounced as ''Norisen'' by the Norwegians), formed in March 19 ...

, who would later become a leader in the Norwegian resistance movement. Evacuated to Great Britain, Kenney continued to work to provide Norway and the Scandinavian countries with Allied news and propaganda. In 1942, he was seconded to the

Norwegian Government-in-Exile __NOTOC__ Nygaardsvold's Cabinet (later becoming the Norwegian government-in-exile, Norwegian: ''Norsk eksilregjering'') was appointed on 20 March 1935, the second Labour cabinet in Norway. It brought to an end the non-socialist minority Governm ...

and was later awarded the

Order of St Olav The Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav ( no, Den Kongelige Norske Sankt Olavs Orden; or ''Sanct Olafs Orden'', the old Norwegian name) is a Norwegian order of chivalry instituted by King Oscar I on 21 August 1847. It is named after King Olav II ...

for his work. After the war, Kenney returned briefly to Norway as a diplomat, and published The Northern Tangle, a history of Scandinavia. He died in 1961, survived by his only child, Kit Kenney (1913-1988).

References

1882 births 1961 deaths People from the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham 20th-century British newspaper publishers (people) British magazine editors 20th-century British diplomats British expatriates in Norway British people of World War I British people of World War II {{Improve categories, date=July 2022