Major General Sir John Kennedy (1878–1948) was a senior

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

officer who served in the

First World War 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 ...

and commanded the 1st Division.

Military career

Educated at Haileybury, Kennedy was commissioned into the

Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders (Princess Louise's) is a light infantry company (military unit), company (designated as Balaklava Company, 5th Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland) and was a line infantry regiment of the British Army tha ...

in 1898. He served with the

Egyptian Army The Egyptian Army (), officially the Egyptian Ground Forces (), is the land warfare branch (and largest service branch) of the Egyptian Armed Forces. Until the declaration of the Republic and the abolishment of the monarchy on 18 June 1953, it w ...

until the

, when he fought on the Western Front; he became commanding officer of the 7th Battalion,

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 service ...

in 1916 and succeeded Archibald Ritchie, was promoted to temporary brigadier general, and was assigned to command the 26th (Highland) Brigade in December 1916. He was appointed inspector of infantry in 1918 and, after relinquishing his temporary rank and assignment in June 1919, became an instructor at the Senior Officers School in 1919 and commanding officer of the 2nd Battalion,

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 lead the

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 1 October, 1940 at Old Delhi in India and assigned to the 8th Indian Infantry Division. In August 1941, they took part i ...

in 1926, and was appointed

General Officer Commanding General officer commanding (GOC) is the usual title given in the armies of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth (and some other nations, such as Ireland) to a general officer who holds a command appointment. Thus, a general might be the GOC ...

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 the 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