Sir Kenneth Hagar Kemp (21 April 1853 – 22 April 1936) was an English

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

soldier A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a Conscription, conscripted or volunteer Enlisted rank, enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, a warrant officer, or an Officer (armed forces), officer. Etymology The wo ...

banker A bank is a financial institution that accepts Deposit account, deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital m ...

and landowner who also played

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is of three or more days scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officially adju ...

for the

Marylebone Cricket Club The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's, Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London, England. The club was the governing body of cricket from 1788 to 1989 and retain ...

(MCC) and

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

in a few matches in the 1870s. He was born at

Erpingham Erpingham ( ) is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. Erpingham is located north of Aylsham and north of Norwich, along Scarrow Beck. The parish also includes the nearby village of Calthorpe. History Erpingham's na ...

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

and died at

Sheringham Sheringham (; population 7,367) is a seaside town and civil parish in the county of Norfolk, England.Ordnance Survey (2002). ''OS Explorer Map 252 - Norfolk Coast East''. . The motto of the town, granted in 1953 to the Sheringham Urban District ...

, also in Norfolk.

Family background

Kemp was the son of Nunn Robert Pretyman Kemp, a Norfolk clergyman; he owed his middle name to his mother, who had been a Miss Hagar. His father died when he was six years old, and Kemp was then educated at the Clergy Orphan School in

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...

, followed by

Jesus College, Cambridge Jesus College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Jesus College was established in 1496 on the site of the twelfth-century Benedictine nunnery of St Radegund's Priory, Cambridge, St ...

. In 1874, following the deaths of two elderly and childless cousins (and the death the previous year of his own elder brother), he inherited the Kemp baronetcy which dated from 1642 and which brought him ownership of

Gissing Hall Gissing Hall is a listed fifteenth century mansion, situated in five acres of woodland and gardens in the village of Gissing in Norfolk, England. The hall is operated as a hotel and restaurant. The Gissing estate dates back to the 15th centur ...

in Norfolk and substantial landholdings.

Cricket career

Kemp appeared in four

first-class matches First class (or 1st class, Firstclass) generally implies a high level of service, importance or quality. Specific uses of the term include: Books and comics * ''First Class'', a comic strip in ''The Dandy'' (1983-1998) * ''X-Men: First Class' ...

. He played once for MCC in 1872 and then in three games while he was at

in 1873, though in only one of the three did he appear for the university side – he played ''against'' the university for an MCC team and a side that was called "An England XI". He was a middle- or lower-middle-order batsman and for the "England" team he bowled three overs without taking a wicket; his highest score was also in that game with an innings of 41. Though Kemp's senior cricket ended in 1873, he continued to play in non-first-class MCC matches for the next decade and more, and also appeared in non-first-class games for the Norfolk county side which was founded in 1876.

Career outside cricket

Following graduation from Cambridge University in 1875, Kemp had a varied career. He joined the part-time

West Norfolk Militia The West Norfolk Militia was an auxiliary military regiment in the English county of Norfolk in East Anglia. First organised during the Seven Years' War it carried out internal security and home defence duties in all of Britain's major wars. It ...

as a supernumerary Second lieutenant on 10 January 1877 while he trained as a lawyer, being called to the bar in 1880. He was also a partner in the Norfolk bank, Lacon Youell & Kemp, and in the 1895 general election and the 1899 by-election he stood for the

Conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilizati ...

in the North Norfolk constituency, unsuccessfully. Kemp's parallel legal and militia careers lasted for many years. As a lawyer, he was the author of a book on the Law of Allotments and practised as a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

on the South-East Circuit. Meanwhile, he steadily progressed through the West Norfolk Militia (which became the 3rd (1st Norfolk Militia) Battalion, Norfolk Regiment, in 1881):

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

, 7 March 1883,

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

28 March 1894, and Lieutenant-Colonel commanding the battalion 15 October 1904. He served in South Africa 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 retired from the militia (by then the

Special Reserve The Special Reserve was established on 1 April 1908 with the function of maintaining a reservoir of manpower for the British Army and training replacement drafts in times of war. Its formation was part of the military reforms implemented by Ri ...

) in 1910 with the honorary rank of

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), 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 colon ...

, but returned to duty 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 ...

, commanding the 2nd (Home Service) Garrison Battalion,

Suffolk Regiment The Suffolk Regiment was an infantry regiment Line infantry, of the line in the British Army with a history dating back to 1685. It saw service for three centuries, participating in many wars and conflicts, including the World War I, First and ...

in 1916, and then returning to his former command, 3rd Battalion Norfolk Regiment, until July 1917. At the end of the war he was appointed

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

"for valuable services rendered in connection with the War".

Family

Kemp married Henrietta Hamilton in 1876; they had one son, Richard Hamilton Kemp, and four daughters. Richard Kemp predeceased his father and left two daughters of his own, so the baronetcy became extinct on Kenneth Kemp's death in 1936.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kemp, Kenneth 1853 births 1936 deaths English cricketers Cambridge University cricketers Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers Baronets in the Baronetage of England Norfolk Militia officers Royal Norfolk Regiment officers Suffolk Regiment officers Commanders of the Order of the British Empire People from Erpingham People educated at St Edmund's School Canterbury Alumni of Jesus College, Cambridge