Charles Kennedy, 5th Marquess of Ailsa (10 April 1875 – 1 June 1956) was a Scottish peer, the son of

Archibald Kennedy, 3rd Marquess of Ailsa Archibald Kennedy, 3rd Marquess of Ailsa (1 September 1847 – 9 April 1938) was a Scottish peer. Early life and education Archibald was born in 1847 at Culzean Castle, the eldest of three sons born to Julia (née Jephson), Marchioness of Ailsa ...

. He was known as Lord Charles Kennedy until 1943, when he inherited the marquessate.

Biography

Lord Charles was born at

Culzean Castle Culzean Castle ( , see yogh; ) is a castle overlooking the Firth of Clyde, near Maybole, Carrick, in South Ayrshire, on the west coast of Scotland. It is the former home of the Marquess of Ailsa, the chief of Clan Kennedy, but is now owned by ...

Ayrshire Ayrshire (, ) is a Counties of Scotland, historic county and registration county, in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. The lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area of Ayrshire and Arran covers the entirety ...

. He was educated at

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England *Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States *Éton, a commune in the Meuse depa ...

and the

Royal Agricultural College The Royal Agricultural University (RAU), formerly the Royal Agricultural College, is a public university in Cirencester, Gloucestershire, England. Established in 1845, it was the first agricultural college in the English-speaking world. ...

Cirencester Cirencester ( , ; see #Pronunciation, below for more variations) is a market town and civil parish in the Cotswold District of Gloucestershire, England. Cirencester lies on the River Churn, a tributary of the River Thames. It is the List of ...

before taking up a military career. On 27 January 1894, he was commissioned a second lieutenant in the 3rd Battalion,

Royal Scots Fusiliers The Royal Scots Fusiliers was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that existed from 1678 until 1959 when it was amalgamated with the Highland Light Infantry (City of Glasgow Regiment) to form the Royal Highland Fusiliers (Princess Ma ...

, but resigned his commission on 5 May. During the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...

, he fought as a captain in an Australian regiment, the Prince of Wales' Light Horse, and received the

Queen's South Africa Medal The Queen's South Africa Medal is a British campaign medal awarded to British and Colonial military personnel, and to civilians employed in an official capacity, who served in the Second Boer War in South Africa. Altogether twenty-six clasps wer ...

with three clasps. After the Boer War, Kennedy moved to the United States, living in

Wyoming Wyoming ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...

through about 1910, and then in

Nevada, Missouri Nevada ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Vernon County, Missouri, Vernon County, Missouri, United States. The population was 8,386 at the 2010 census, and 8,254 in the 2018 estimate. The local government has a council-manager model. Histo ...

and

Davenport, Iowa Davenport ( ) is a city in Scott County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. It is situated along the Mississippi River on the eastern border of the state. Davenport had a population of 101,724 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 cen ...

. In November 1914, on the outbreak of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, he returned to Great Britain and joined the

Ayrshire Yeomanry The Ayrshire (Earl of Carrick's Own) Yeomanry was a Regiment of the British Yeomanry and is now an armoured Squadron of the Scottish and North Irish Yeomanry (SNIY), part of the British Army Reserve. It is the Lowlands of Scotland's only Royal ...

in January 1915. He was passed as "unfit for overseas service" and was appointed an area gas officer in late 1916. Kennedy was briefly posted to France as a gas instructor with the

18th (Eastern) Division The 18th (Eastern) Division was an infantry division of the British Army formed in September 1914 during the First World War as part of the K2 Army Group, part of Lord Kitchener's New Armies. From its creation the division trained in England ...

in 1918. He resigned his captaincy in the Yeomanry on 14 January 1921. On 15 December 1925, he married

Constance Barbara Clarke Constance Barbara Clarke, Lady Baird (1866 – November 1931), later Lady Charles Kennedy, known as Constance, Lady Baird, was a British military nurse and pioneering yachtswoman. Early life and family Constance Barbara Clarke was born at Avis ...

, widow of Sir John Baird.''The Complete Peerage, Volume XIV'', page 13 She died in 1931. Kennedy made a second marriage to Helen Ethel McDouall, widow of Richard John Cuninghame, of Hensol House, on 26 April 1933. Kennedy succeeded his elder brother as Marquess of Ailsa in 1943. In 1945 he presented the family seat,

, to the

National Trust for Scotland The National Trust for Scotland () is a Scottish Building preservation and conservation trusts in the UK, conservation organisation. It is the largest membership organisation in Scotland and describes itself as "the charity that cares for, sha ...

under the Country House Scheme. He died without issue in 1956 and his titles passed to his younger

brother A brother (: brothers or brethren) is a man or boy who shares one or more parents with another; a male sibling. The female counterpart is a sister. Although the term typically refers to a family, familial relationship, it is sometimes used ende ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ailsa, Charles Kennedy, 5th Marquess Of 1875 births 1956 deaths Nobility from South Ayrshire Royal Scots Fusiliers officers

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''* ...

Scottish people of Dutch descent Schuyler family Van Cortlandt family Ayrshire (Earl of Carrick's Own) Yeomanry officers 5 Scottish expatriates in the United States British Army personnel of the Second Boer War British Army personnel of World War I People educated at Eton College Alumni of the Royal Agricultural University